Birth By Fire
by SatireSwift
Summary: Shirou Kotomine was found by his adopted father the day of the Fuyuki City Fire, and trained under the priest for 10 years to follow in his footsteps as an Executor. Still, Shirou never really trusts the man, and the bleakness of the hidden world of magic does little to help is worldview. When the Holy Grail Chose him for the next war, Fire will beget more Fire.
1. Prologue

Fire. That was the world that the young boy was brought into. It may have not been true in the literal sense, but as the boy wandered through the burning streets, all traces of his past were consumed by the flames. He could vaguely hear the cries of despair and pain around him, but he did not truly listen to it. It merely sunk into his being as he walked forward, step by step, headless of the cries of the dying, of the desolation around him, of his own wounds and burns that gradually slowed his forward march. The boy only barely noticed when his legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed to the ground on his back.

It was the fire that created him. And like a flame, he was going to be extinguished.

However, that was not to be. As the boy stared up at the dull orange sky created by the flames and the clouds, a face moved into his vision. It was a man's face, with short brown hair and empty eyes. There was no expression on the man's face for the longest moment. Then, the man smiled.

It was not a pleasant or happy smile. Even in the boy's current state, he could tell that it was not a smile that people should have. It was a twisted, cruel thing that only took joy in the suffering of others. Given the multitude of thing the boy could have thought of before unconsciousness took him, it is odd that he thought the thing he did.

_Maybe the fire exists to burn things like that…_

* * *

The boy was lead into a church by the man with the wrong smile. The man… did something to him. He was aware he was not dying anymore, but he wasn't sure how. He had also regained the small bit of self awareness that allowed him to make such an observation. Still, the boy was a long way from functioning, and merely stared forward with a dull expression on his face as the man sat him down in one of the pews.

"Now stay here." The man said before walking off to enter one of the doors in the back.

And so the boy sat, merely looking forward at nothing. There was nothing more for him to do than just… exist. He was a hollow shell, empty of any substance.

Almost. Thoughts of that man's smile floated though his mind. Thoughts of the fire that burned away at the world it existed in.

_Burn…_

It was then the boy became aware of something of to his right. Turning his head, he saw rows of prayer candles lining the one of the walls. Instinctively, he got up and walked over to them. He paused and looked at the dancing flames, each point of light flickering.

_Burn it…_

If anyone had seen the grin that etched itself on the boy's face, they would have felt a shiver go up their spine.

_Burn it all._

All it takes to start a fire is a spark.

* * *

~B~

* * *

Kotomine ushered the boy along to the front door of the Tohsaka estate. In the few months the child had been under his care, the boy had very seldom been allowed to leave the church. Unbeknownst to the child, the priest had plans for the boy, and he had thought to start by isolating him to make him more pliable. However, Kotomine hadn't anticipated just how… energetic the boy could get when he was cooped up for too long. He had seemed harmless enough at first, barely moving or speaking after bringing him back to the church from the fire. But as soon as the boy recovered…

Kotomine made a mental note to install a new sprinkler system in the main hall. He had no idea how the kid had managed to set the confession box on fire.

"So, what's so important about this place?" The boy named Shirou asked as he eyed the large mansion in front of him. He was a little antsy, be also eager to finally be out and about.

"It is the home of another I happen to be the guardian of." The priest replied and he unlocked the door and the two stepped inside. "She happens to be about your age. I thought it would be good for the both of you to become acquainted."

_And get out of my hair for a little while_, he thought to himself.

Rin came down the stairs a few moments later, no doubt alerted to their presence by the estate wards. "Oh, it's you. And what have you brought into my house?" She said, eyeing the boy.

Kotomine was growing accustomed to the girl's dismissive greeting of him. Ever since the death of her father, Rin had been growing increasingly aloof and cold, which was in stark contrast to the rather sweet girl she used to be. The thought made him have to suppress a smile. "This, Miss Tohsaka, is the one I took in after the fire. His name is Shirou."

"Clearly." She gave a huff as she looked at the burn marks on the boy's face. "Though I honestly don't understand why you're doing so. You don't seem to be particularly good at raising me."

"Be that as it may, I believe that there is potential in this one, as he has surprisingly good magic circuits. I am planning on training him to become an Executor."

"Oy, can you stop talking like I'm not here?" Shirou grumbled.

Rin spared an annoyed glance him before turning back to the priest. "Well, whatever. You still haven't explained what you're doing here."

"I thought that the two of you could have a… oh what's the word… playdate."

"What?!" Rin said in shock. "Why would I need spend time with him?"

"I dunno, maybe so I could teach you some manners?" the boy said sarcastically.

Before the Tohsaka heiress could get any angrier, Kotomine spoke up. "It is because you need to spend more time among your peers, Miss Tohsaka. Your dedication to magecraft is admirable, but it would be unbecoming of one of your stature to become a shut in."

The small magus's eyes narrowed. "You're not just doing this so you don't have to take care of him for a few hours, are you?"

"Of course not." He lied smoothly. "Now why don't the two of you run outside and… do whatever it is you kids do these days."

He ignored both their protests and ushered the children outside. He planned to enjoy the next few hours of quiet to himself.

* * *

"And this is the estate gardens." Rin said primly, waving her hand in the direction of the carefully arranged flower bed. After the priest had all but thrown them out of the house, and as neither one had any idea what to do with themselves, Rin had opted to show the boy around the grounds. "I'm sure someone such as yourself has never seen such a lovely garden."

"Probably," Shirou admitted while he looked at the plants with mild interest. "I haven't really been outside this church, so this is the only one I've seen."

"Hmp. Well, then be grateful that I decided to show it to you."

"Yeah, yeah," The boy responded, waving his hand. "Hey, how fast do you think the whole thing will burn if you put a spark the center?"

"What!?" Rin yelled incredulously. "Why would anyone do such a thing?!"

"… to watch it burn?" Shirou said slowly, like he was saying something that should be blatantly obvious.

"W-w-why you… pyromaniac!" She yelled. "Maybe that phony priest was right to keep you locked up in that church!"

A look of surprise crossed the boy's face before it settled into a scowl. "Hey, what gives?! I was just trying to make conversation. You know, be friendly?"

"I don't need a crazy little delinquent like you to be my friend!"

"Oh really? 'Cause all you've done since we met is talk down to me. Since you seem to be angry all the time, I'd be surprised if you made any friends at all! You can't talk to people like that, even if you are really pretty!"

Rin was about to lay into the uncouth boy when she realized what he said. "W-what did you just say?"

"I said you can't talk to-"

"No, not that the last part!" She shouted.

"I said you are really pretty!" He shouted back, though he was clearly confused.

"…Really?"

"Well, yeah." He replied uncertainly. "Why?"

Rin hesitated. Only her mother had ever told her that she looked pretty. Hearing it from someone else was… oddly pleasant. "I… no one other than my mother has ever called me pretty before."

It was now Shirou's turn to look incredulous. "What? How's that possible? It's blatantly obvious that you are. I mean, your eyes look like the sea, your hair is probably the blackest thing I've ever seen," he said, causally listing off her qualities like it was not romantic in the slightest. He stopped and peered at her. "Hey, your face just went all red. Are you feeling alright?"

This observation only proceeded to make the reddening worse and the young magus quickly spun around to hide her face. "I'm fine! Just stop talking!"

"Uh, okay." Shirou said, and he promptly fell into silence and watched the girl in front of him with curiosity as she calmed herself down.

Eventually, she turned back around. "Perhaps I was… hasty in saying that you couldn't be my friend. I suppose that we could… give it a shot."

Shirou had no idea what had just caused the sudden shift in the girl's attitude, but he decided not to question it. "Alright! If we're friends, then we need to make it official!"

Rin titled her head to the side. "How do we do that?"

Shirou opened his mouth and put up his finger… before looking the side sheepishly and scratching his head. "I have no idea." Rin face palmed as Shirou muttered to himself for a few moments longer before saying "I've got it! We'll give each other nicknames!"

"Nicknames?"

"Yep! Friends have nicknames for each other, so that's how we'll know its official!" He then scratched his chin as he looked at her. "But it can't just be anything. It has to be something that sums you up. Something that means 'you'."

As he looked at her, Rin felt an odd bit of anticipation. What would her nickname be? Would it be about how pretty she was? Or how skilled? Or maybe…

"I got it!" Shirou said with a snap of his fingers. "I'ma call you Tsun-tsun!"

* * *

"And then she punched me in the face!" Shriou exclaimed to Kotomine, holding a bloody tissue under his nose.

The priest gave a sigh. "I suppose it was too much to ask for that you would stay out of trouble for a while." He said as they walked to the front gate.

"It's not like I was trying to cause trouble! She got all weird after I said she was pretty, and then she said we were friends, but then she punched me when I gave her a nickname!" the boy sighed. "Then again, I suppose she is Tsun-tsun."

Kotomine arched an eyebrow at this. "Indeed? You might not want to call her that the next time you're here."

"What? No way am I ever coming here again. Rin clearly hates me."

"Are you sure?"

The boy gave the older man a flat look and gestured to his nose. "She punched me. In the face. I think I know enough to know that means the person who did it hates me." He said in a tone like he was explaining something to an idiot.

"Hey! Pryo!" The two males turned around to see Rin standing in the doorway of the mansion.

"What, you mean me?" Shriou asked.

"Of course I mean you." She replied. "I will expect you here next Saturday at noon sharp, understand?"

"Wait, why?"

"Because it's important for friends to meet regularly." Rin said, as if stating the obvious.

Shirou now looked completely lost. "Wha.. b-but if we're friends, why did you-"

"I will not stand it if you are late. Now, enjoy your evening." And with that, she promptly stepped back inside and closed the door.

Shriou stood motionless save for his jaw, which was soundlessly moving up and down, giving him a completely flabbergasted looked. After a minute, he finally turned to Kotomine and asked in a quiet voice. "Father, are all girls crazy?"

The older man simply arched an eyebrow. "Why do you think I became a priest?"

Kotomine couldn't help but smile at the boy's groan of utter despair.

* * *

~B~

* * *

Shirou grunted with exertion as he held his arms out to the sides. The pair of five gallon water jugs he held were only griped by the tips of his fingers, his hands face down and in a claw like shape as he griped their necks. They were barely filled a quarter of the way, but considering that the boy wasn't even into his teens yet and that he had been holding them as such for the past ten minutes, it was actually rather impressive.

Still, this was always Shirou's least favorite part of his training. Yes, he knew why he had to do it: grip strength conditioning was crucial to his martial art as well as being able to properly wield the Black Keys, the sacred blades of the Church. It was just so boring. He wished that he could do what he actually wanted, practicing his fire magecraft. He was aware that this was probably influenced by the fact that he was a Fire incarnation (meaning that both his Elemental Alignment and his personal Origin were fire), but he didn't care. Fire magecraft was his specialty, and he was better at it even than Rin.

This was something that irked the girl to no small degree, even if she was better than him at pretty much everything else. Shirou had offered to help her with it, but she always became indignant, asking if he thought she was incompetent. Then when he points out all the ways she's not, her face gets all red and funny looking. Then she would start hitting him for some reason or another.

Tsun-tsun was weird like that.

Shirou heard the door open behind him, and the voice of his father said. "You got into another fight." It was not a question.

The boy gave a sigh and he put the jugs down. He turned to face the priest, his black eye now visible to the older man. "And your point is?"

"Shirou, I would have hoped that I have instilled the importance of keeping a low profile into you by now."

Shirou gave a snort. "Oh please, those guys were asking for it. They thought they could order me around just because I'm a kid. I did the world a service by beating some sense into them."

Kotomine gave a grunt as he looked over his son with a critical eye. "You look like you bit off more than you could chew. I should not have to tell you that I will be very upset with you if-"

"Relax, I didn't set anyone one fire." _This time_, he thought to himself. "I didn't use any magecraft. Hence this." Shirou said as he gestured to his eye. One of the jerks was carrying a baseball bat and managed to get a lucky hit in while he was dealing with his friends.

The priest regarded his son with a neutral expression. "So in addition to getting into an unnecessary fight, you took damage from what should have been inferior opponents." Shirou grumbled at the last part of that statement, but Kotomine continued. "You realize of course that in spite of your reason, you still must be punished."

"Yeah, I figured." Shirou said as he gave a sigh. "Well, it's about time for my Reinforcement training anyway, so-"

That was as far as he got before the first blow connected with his stomach.

* * *

~B~

* * *

It was a day much like any other day for Sakura. That was to say, she was currently being harassed by a number of older boys from her class. The 11 year old didn't know exactly why they did it (she never did), but she doubted that there was really any reason necessary. She was tainted after all, meant to suffer for reasons she would never really understand.

Although, it was worth noting that she couldn't even really bring herself to care as the boys shoved her around the street and hit her. This was barely anything compared to the hell that awaited her back at her home. Considering the things that she had already been through, it was sometimes a wonder that she could feel anything at all.

She didn't know how long it continued, only that at some point a new voice emerged throughout the jeers. "Oi! The Hell's going on here?"

As she had been knocked on the ground a few moments prior, she couldn't really see the newcomer past the other boys. All she saw was a pair of legs clad in the uniform pants from her school. The eldest bully turned away from her to address him. "None of your business, twerp! This girl walked down our street without payin' the toll, so now we haveta take it out of her!"

Was that the reason? Sakura didn't know. It was just as likely that the boy made it up on the spot. The other boy, the new one, gave a snort. "Yeah, because beating the girl up will totally make her want to come down this road again. Are you stupid as well so cowardly to fight people who can't fight back?"

The other boy growled. "That's it! We're gonna make that ugly face of yours even more messed up!"

One of the other two boys that had been hitting Sakura didn't seem too keen on this plan, though. "I don't know about this, boss. I think I've heard of this guy. Some of the kids in class said that there was this troublemaker with burn scars and red hair that picks fights with high schoolers."

"Don't be a wuss!" The leader shouted. "The kid probably just made those stories up to make himself sound cool. Now get him!"

The three surged forward to tackle the other boy, but he dodged out of the way with surprising skill before moving back in to strike. As Sakura sat up, she was impressed to see the boy deftly moving in between the other 3, punching and kicking without talking any hits in return. It was clear that he had some kind of training in combat, and was more than a match for the 3 youths standing in front of him.

A few moments later, the three were knocked down or knocked back, groaning in pain. As they picked themselves up, the cautious one from before said "Y-you are him! You're the Red Haired Devil!" With that the three of them ran past Sakura, trying to get away from him. She looked after their fleeing forms dumbly, not quite believing what had just happen. Her attention returned to the boy that saved her as she heard him walk over, and for the first time she got a good look at him.

The boy looked to be about a year older than her, and had short, somewhat pointy auburn hair. More notable though were the burn marks on his face, some of which went down past his collar. She saw more on the back of his hands, and wondered if his whole body had them. His amber eyes weren't looking at her at the moment though, instead looking intensely at fleeing bullies.

"Never matters how many I stop," He said, seemingly to himself. "There's always more. This world is filled darkness and corruption. I wish I could just burn it all away…"

Sakura began to shake slightly at this statement. She knew she was one of those things filled with darkness and corruption, and at that moment the boy looked so resolute. He would find out what she was and dispose of her. At that moment, the boy was terrifying.

He then looked down at her. "Are you alr- Holy Crap you have no pupils!" he shouted as he pointed and gawked at her.

Annnd the moment was over.

Sakura froze, feeling stunned, incredibly confused, and having no idea how to respond to that. It was true that the 'training' that Zouken put her through had made some physical changes to her eyes, but they had a very light mystic effect on them that kept non-magi from noticing anything. And magi usually had more grace or simply didn't care about such mundane things. She had no idea how he noticed, but the sheer unexpectedness of the comment completely wiped away any fear she might have had for the boy. Stranger still, she felt oddly hurt by it, as if she cared what he thought about such a trivial thing.

Apparently some of what she was feeling translated to her face, as the boy's eyes went wide and he started waving his hands in front of him. "Oh God, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset! Please don't cry!"

Sakura titled her head and scrunched her face in confusion at the boy's panic. It was almost like he was concerned about her. But that couldn't be right. No one could have concern for something like her.

The boy continued "I mean, it doesn't look bad, it just looks different! You still look really pretty, cause your hair and eyes look like Sakura blossoms!"

She froze at this, and stared at him in wonder. "…Really?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes!" He said with some exasperation. "God, why do girls keep asking me that? Why would I lie about them being pretty? It's almost like they can't see its total obvious."

Sakura felt herself blushing faintly. She couldn't remember the last time someone complemented her. She tried to thank him, but it came out as a stutter.

He seemed to interpret this as her still being upset as he said "Ah man, I screwed up didn't I?" He fretted some as he scratched the back of his head. "I got to make this better somehow. What would Tsun-tsun say if she saw this?" He turned away from her and took a lecturing pose as his voice shifted to a higher pitch. "Pyro, you idiot! I suppose it's only natural that an uncouth lout like you would insult the girl he's saving. You haven't even helped her off the ground yet! Now take responsibility for this and treat her to something nice!"

He stopped and snapped his fingers. "Treat! That's it!" he turned back to Sakura and held out his hand to help her up. "I'm sorry about all that earlier. How about I get you some ice cream, my treat?"

Sakura blinked. It had been years since she had ice cream. She used to love it before she went to live with the Matou, before everything became worse. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out and took the boy's hand, deciding that yes, she very much wanted this boy to get her ice cream.

* * *

"Shirou, why did you bring some random girl to my house?" Rin asked as she suspiciously eyed Sakura as the other girl tried to nervously hide behind Shirou while gripping his arm.

"Well, I certainly wasn't going to bring her back to the church." He said, as if that was the problem. "I mean, I live there and even I sometimes find it kinda creepy. Given the day she's had, I felt that I needed to bring her someplace more homey, you know?"

Rin's mouth twisted. "I meant, why is she still following you around? Doesn't she have a home to go to?"

"Oh," he said as he scratched his head. "Well, she said she wanted to hang out with me some more."

"S-sempai has been very nice to me." Sakura said before shuffling a bit farther behind him.

Rin frowned as she considered the situation. Of all the people he had to bring home, why did it have to be her? The magus has mixed feelings upon seeing her sister again. She was at least a little glad to see her, but since she now belonged to a different family, that sort of made them rivals. Different magus families, even ones that were allied, often had to make sure that the other wasn't hiding a knife behind their back. For various reasons she had to keep Sakura at arm's length, and not even let Shirou know of the fact that they were siblings.

Of course, had Rin known then that Shriou had shown her sister more kindness in the past four hours then the girl had gotten in the past four years, Rin might have been more considerate.

Shirou gave his oldest friend a frown of his own. "Hey, don't look so scary, Tsun-tsun. She's had a bad day, so be nice and properly introduce yourself." As he said this, he gently pulled the other girl around him and nudged her towards Rin.

"Don't call me Tsun-tsun!" She barked at him for was must have been the thousandth time. She calmed herself down and turned to her sister, wanting to get this farce over with. "I am Rin Tohsaka. It is a pleasure to meet you." She said with a curtsy.

"Ah," Sakura said nervously as she curtsied back. "Sakura Matou. I'll be in your care."

"See, you get along just fine. I think you'll be a good influence on her." Shriou said with a smile.

"And why do you think that?" Rin grumbled.

Shirou's eyebrows rose slightly and he began ticking off his fingers. "Well, you're really smart, outgoing, confident, you could teach her that thing you do when you look even prettier than usual and it kinda radiates off of you…"

Rin's face went red and she sputtered in frustration. He was doing that _thing_ again. That thing where he compliments her so much that if it were anyone else she would know they were patronizing her, but Shirou was just so damn honest and sincere and – Gahh! It always made her feel too many conflicting emotions and confused. Then she gets angry at him for making her confused, as it was clearly his fault.

Before she could get to that stage though, he then looked at the two girls thoughtfully. "You know, there's something about you two. Something similar, yet different. It's like you're related somehow…"

Rin and Sakura shared a glance. It would be bad if he figured out that they were sisters. Then they would have to start explaining things, and that could lead to all sorts of uncomfortable questions. Like why they were separated in the first place, or just what Sakura's magic training was, or-

Shirou suddenly snapped his fingers. "That's it!" he exclaimed before pointing at Sakura. "Dere-dere!"

The two girls stared at him in bafflement as he continued. He pointed at Rin "Tsun-tsun," then at Sakura "Dere-dere". He did it again. "Angry. Nice. It's like you two complement each other perfectly. I'm a genius!" He declared as he put his hands on his hips.

It was quiet in the hall for a moment before a growl emanated from Rin's throat. _Right. That's my Shirou Saying Stupid Things limit for the day. Back to anger_. And with that thought, the magus threw herself at Shriou with a scream and tackled him to the ground, pummeling him with her small fists.

This might have been disconcerting for the boy if it wasn't all too familiar. "Damn it Tsun Tsun, why do you keep randomly attacking me when I say things?!"

"Because you keep saying stupid things!"

"Ah! Sempai!"

This event basically summed up how the next 5 years or so went for the three friends.

* * *

~B~

* * *

Shirou stood where he was, feeling somewhat nonplussed by his current situation. He had been asked by one of his teachers to deliver some homework to a student who hadn't been to school in a few days, which in itself was a rather strange thing to happen to him. He wasn't exactly an ideal student to start with, and the fact that he barley knew the girl made it very strange that the teacher had asked him to be the one to do it. The older man had looked somewhat scared when he had told Shirou where he was most likely to find her as well, for reasons the teenager didn't know.

However, that reason became much clearer when Shirou found himself surrounded by couple of thugs and was informed he was currently in Yakuza territory.

"And I thought I was a delinquent…" he muttered to himself before addressing the men surrounding him. "So, do any of you guys happen to know where I can find Ayako Mitsuduri? I was told that she hangs out around here a lot."

"I think that you should be more worried about yourself, kid." A seedy looking guy with way too much hair gel responded giving him a sneer. "Tell you what, why don't you give me your lunch money and we'll let you walk out of here like we never saw you."

Shirou sighed in exasperation. He thought he would be done with this sort of thing after middle school. "Schools ended already, idiot. Then again, you don't look like you ever went to one, so maybe you honestly didn't know that."

"You punk!" the man shouted and threw a punch at Shirou's face. It was in sloppy form and was telegraphed for all the world to see, so the teenager had no problem stepping back slightly and catching the fist with his hand. Then he began to squeeze. "AAAAGG!" The man screamed as several loud pops and cracks could be heard from his hand.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way," Shirou said in a bored tone. "Do you think we could just skip to the part where you tell me where she is? I have some homework I need to give her."

The rest of the men around him gave indignant growls and pulled out various sorts of weapons. Shirou couldn't help but give a small grin as he felt a familiar tension build up inside him. Ever since he had entered high school he hadn't been able to get into a good fight (everyone already knew by that point to steer clear of him), so maybe these guys could scratch that particular itch. Normally, a sane person wouldn't even think of picking a fight with the Yakuza.

Of course, sane wasn't quite applicable when it came to Shirou Kotomine.

"Hold it!" A loud female voice called out. Looking to the side from where he was standing in the street, Shirou saw a woman walk out of the restaurant he was told Ayako was seen visiting. This woman had short brown hair and was wearing a green dress with a yellow and black striped shirt underneath it. She was also carrying a shinai over her shoulder. It made for a rather odd looking sight considering the situation. "Now just what the hell is going on here?"

"This guy broke my hand, Fujimura-sama!" the greasy one said, oddly deferring to this strange looking woman. "We were going to teach him a lesson!"

"You tried to mug me." Shirou said.

The woman gave a frown at the greasy man. "Takato, what have I told you about trying to steal from people? We have an image to uphold! Now, are we clear, or do we have to have a little 'chat' in the back room?" The woman asked with a smile, and her grip tightened on the shinai.

"Ack! No! We're perfectly clear!" The man said, clearing not wanting whatever the woman was implying.

"Good!" The woman said cheerfully before she turned to Shirou with a critical eye. "Now, what's a young man like you doing in this part of town?"

Shirou gave a small frown as it now seemed that he wouldn't get the fight he was hoping for. "Well, I was looking for Ayako Mitsuduri-"

"Ah!" The woman said in surprise, interrupting him. "What do you want with my apprentice?"

"I was-"

"Wait, that uniform, you must be from her school! Which means…" she gave a gasp. "You must be that guy that's been trying to get in her pants!"

"Wait, what?!" Shirou exclaimed, not at all expecting the turn this conversation took.

"I would never let a sketchy looking guy like you at my innocent apprentice!" She settled into a fighting pose and put the shinai before her. "HIYA!" she yelled as she charged him.

"Wait, I'm not-!" Shirou tried to say, but the other woman wasn't listening. She was already on him and he only had a split second to swing his backpack off his back and block the blow with it. However the woman quickly recovered from this and pivoted, striking a blow against his side. He gave a wince of pain and dropped the bag, ducking out of the way of another struck to his shoulder. He desperately dodged the next few blows, trying to explain to the woman that it wasn't what she thought, but after a few moments he stopped trying. It was then he noticed something.

This woman was actually really good.

With a sudden rising strike, she clipped the underside of his chin, and a small amount of blood came from his mouth as his head reeled back. He staggered slightly as he stared at the woman, who was holding out her sword with a look of victory on her face. "Ha! That will teach you for harassing an innocent maiden! I'm not letting you leave until I beat some manners into your skull!"

The woman's confidence was somewhat shaken however when Shirou began to laugh. "Heh… heh heh ahahahah! Leave? Why would I do that? You're looking like the best fight I've had in weeks!" He yelled as he slipped into a fighting stance. Sure he could have ended the fight quickly had he Reinforced himself, but that would take the fun out of it (besides, he hadn't needed to do that to win a normal fight in years).

The woman's eye's narrowed and her grip on her shinai tightened. She wasn't going to back down, but it was clear that she was now taking the teen in front of her more seriously. Both tensed to make the next move before-

"Wait!" A new female voice called out. "Taiga, stop! That's not the guy!"

"Oh come on!" Shirou exclaimed, exasperated by being interrupted again.

Anther woman came running out of the restaurant, this one younger and with longer brown hair. After a moment of consideration, Shirou realized that this was indeed Ayako. The girl in question ran between the two of them and faced the older woman. "Please don't fight him! That's just the guy at my school who gets in trouble all the time!"

"Huh?" the newly named Taiga said. "Then why the heck is this guy here looking for you?"

Shirou sighed. "Well, as I was saying before I was interrupted, I was bringing Ayako her homework." He said, pointed at his discarded backpack. "She has been out for a few days after all."

"Ooooh," Taiga said, looking off to the side embarrassed. "Umm, sorry."

Ayako gave him a curious look. "You walked right into Yakuza territory just to give me my homework?"

"Well, I didn't know that at the time, but yes." Shirou replied. "By the way, what are you doing here? I wasn't aware that there was anyone in the student body that had gang ties."

Ayako looked off to the side. "Taiga-sensei's grandfather is in command of the local organization, and I've known her since she was back at our high school doing kendo. When one of the guys in my class started pursing me more… aggressively, I decided to hang out here for awhile to avoid him."

Shirou frowned at this. "You're not going to school because some guy won't take no for an answer? What an asshole. If you want, I'll go sort it out for you."

The girl was taken aback by this. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

He gave a shrug. "Sure, why not? I might as well punch someone today. Besides, that's no way to treat a person."

Ayako gave him an odd look before a smile crossed her face. "You know, you're not what I expected from someone who's called the Red Haired Devil. I guess I can see why Tohsaka hangs out with you all the time."

"Well, that settles it." Taiga said as she re-shouldered her sword. "Anyone that that'll beat up a lech for Ayako is ok in my book! I shall now have to repay you for your valor!" She then looked off to the side embarrassed. "And for hitting you."

Shirou briefly considered asking to continue their fight, but decided against it. Instead he stole a glance at the restaurant they came out of. "Actually, I can think of one way for can repay me right now…"

* * *

The 3 friends looked at each other, their expressions grim. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a blade.

"We all knew this day would come." Shirou said, his voice hard.

"Are you afraid, Pryo?" Rin said with her usual superior tone. "You know that there's no surrender in this, that only one of us will remain standing when it's over. And I intend to show you what a true master is capable of."

"He would never surrender Rin. He enjoys fighting to much." Sakura said before she turned to Shirou. "You may be my sempai, but I won't just let you win. I'm going to fight with everything I have."

Shirou nodded and gave a small smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He said before his face became serious again. "Are we ready?"

All three tightened their grips on the various tools of battle they were carrying and nodded.

"So be it. Now… BEGIN!"

Steel and fire flashed as each of the three friend threw themselves into the fray, moving as fast as they could to stay one step ahead of their opponents. Were anyone watching, they would have been amazed at the skill and precision they three teens displayed. No one would dare think of interrupting this conflict.

Well, no one other than Taiga anyway. "Hey, when do you guys think you'll be don- oh crap!" She said, ducking as three knifes embedded themselves in the door she had just walked though.

"NOT NOW!" the three of them yelled, not even slowing down from their furious cooking. Now that that had found a kitchen large enough for all three of them to cook in at the same time, nothing would stop them from proving which among them was the greatest chef!

And so the three 'battled', as it were. It would not be the first or last time they had done as such, and in the end, it was a play they enjoyed with each other.

Unfortunately, it was not to last.

* * *

A/N: Here it is. The origin of Shirou Kotomine, from what has become my most popular fic, _A Soul of Fire_. For those of you just tuning in, ASOF is my FSN/Sekirei crossover that was originally just an omake for Gabriel Blessing's _In Flight_ fic. And, like numerous other omakes which I made for that, the idea expanded, took form and became its own thing. And also like before, the character I created has a story worth telling.

(By the way, the term Incarnation is one I sto- I mean borrowed from Third Fang's fic _From Fake Dreams_. You should go read that.)

For those of you who have been following along, yes I used the 'When Shirou met -' segments for this prolog as this would be the best time for new readers to get that information. Still I threw in a little extra for you guys.

Also, while I have been dropping hints and bits of information about this in ASOF, I'm not going to be 100% faithful to it for a number of reasons. One of which is that I got some things wrong, as it was helpfully pointed out to me that the Catholic Church does not exist in the Nasuverse, as Christianity never schismed there. So, technically Kotomine's comment about becoming a priest doesn't really make sense as priests of the Holy Church are allowed to marry.

However, I like that line, so I'm going to say that the vow of celibacy is an optional but frequently taken vow by priests, thus making his implication sound. Kotomine never said that was why he became a priest, he was just trolling Shirou. And before you ask, no Shirou does not know about Caren, and yes she will show up and be an important character in this fic.

Until next time.


	2. Chapter 1

Kirei Kotomine sat at his desk, filing through the numerous papers that littered its surface. Paperwork was a necessary evil for any organization, and for him it was doubly so. In addition to dealing with the more mundane aspects of being a priest running a church, he had to deal with reports and updates pertaining to the more secret aspect of his job. Being an Executor for the Church was not all about going on missions to fight dangerous monsters after all.

Of course, Kirei found himself needing go on missions even less as of late. His son had been doing so for him for the past couple of years now, ever since he himself had become an Executor as well. He may not have been as young as his father when he gained the title, but the Church recognized his potential and skill fairly early. If he had been the kind of man to feel pride, Kirei would have been impressed with the job he had done training his apprentice.

However, the priest was not one to feel pride, or much of anything for that matter. The only emotion he did feel, as a matter of fact, made his choice of profession rather questionable. It was not the time or place for such a thing, so Kirei looked over the report of his son's latest mission with dispassionate analysis.

_The target formally known as Lord Jacques Roberval was successfully neutralized by Executor Shirou Kotomine. However, the target successfully managed to convert approximately 60% of the population of the town he was hiding in into Dead Apostles through his research before the Executors could arrive. Upon learning this information, Executor Kotomine immediately set about sterilizing the area, killing all Dead he could find before the Lord was flushed out and killed when he resisted being taken. Collateral for the event resulted in the destruction of the entire town, and only 10% of the original population remains, though it is unclear just how many died from what._

_Evaluation of Executor Kotomine's progress remains on going, but opinions are still mixed. He is undeniably effective at what he does, and his capacity for wide scale destruction could be a massive asset to the Church if used properly. However, his psychological profile remains somewhat disturbing, showing clear violent and pyromaniacal tendencies. He is stable for now, but he must be watched closely in the future._

"It seems my son is progressing nicely." Kirei mussed out loud. When he had first found the boy, dying amid the flames of the Fuyuki City Fire, he had saved him on a whim. Sure, there were other orphans which he had 'saved', but this one was different. He decided to raise him as his own and see just what kind of person he could mold him into. There was only a little more to be done…

"Hmp. You and I have different ideas on what progress means." A haughty voice spoke from the air behind him, and a moment later a man materialized from nothing. He was blonde with red eyes and wearing fine designer clothing. "The boy is still a complete barbarian."

The priest turned in his chair to face the man. "I do apologize for his manners, oh King, but I was referring to his skill in combat." Give that he lived in the church with Kirei, it had been inevitable that Shirou had run into the man a few times, and Kirei had to always be carful that his son's usual behavior never upset him. "Besides, I assure you that his mental state is a necessity for what I have planed."

Gilgamesh, King of Heroes scoffed at this. "So you keep telling me. Well, I supposed if the playwright explained everything before the show had begun, it would not be an entertaining performance. However, you are going to keep the barbarian away from me until the curtain rises. If I have to endure anymore of that child's disrespect, I shall exercise my right as King and remove the uncivilized lout from existence."

Kirei bowed his head. One did not argue with the First King of Man and expect to live for very long. A small amount of subtly and no small amount of tact were required. "Of course, though I imagine that it will be difficult. There is still some more work to be done before he is ready, and I do not know how long before the stage is set."

"Well then, you best accelerate your plans." Gilgamesh said with a smirk. "It has already begun."

Kirei blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am sure." The blonde man said arrogantly. "I felt the call go out. The Grail is calling Masters once again."

The Holy Grail. An object of near limitless power and potential, created for the purpose of reaching the Root of the World. It was the reason that the Holy Grail War had been fought 4 times previous, with seven Masters summoning seven Servants to do battle for them until only one remained. The fallout of the previous War had caused the fire 10 years ago, and because of this, the 5th War was starting again much earlier than it should.

A smile etched itself on Kirei's face, though anyone who saw it would find it to be disturbing. It was not a smile of happiness, not as a normal person knows it. "Well then, this playwright will have to try harder to insure that all the players are ready for when show begins. Especially my son." He said, the only emotion he knew filling his normally empty heart: the joy of the suffering of others.

"After all, what is a play without a villain?"

* * *

It was a beautiful spring morning for Fuyuki City, the day feeling like it had endless possibilities. Rin Tohsaka walked alone down the street towards school, an almost undetectable spring in her step. Normally, the noble born girl was perfectly reserved and composed, but this morning she was almost giddy with excitement. When she had awakened that morning, she had found something that she never thought she would have seen in her lifetime. Something that would allow her to show the world that she was a true magus.

Something that would have made her father proud if he were still alive.

Walking through the gates of Homurahara Gakuen (her high school), she managed to reign herself in. She couldn't be hasty and let her emotions get the better of her, especially now. She needed to be careful and think things through, and there were a number of things she already knew she had to deal with today. The first of which was that she needed to talk to a particular someone, who was probably here already. She usually came in early when Shirou was away on one of his trip

Rin walked through the halls of the school and into a classroom with a bearing and presence befitting of one of her birth. Normally the students would accept her being there as a matter of course, but here they broke into whispers at the sight of the school idol. This was mostly due to the fact that this was not her classroom; it belonged to a class that was a year younger than her.

She walked past the rows of desks with purpose, stopping in front of one in particular. "Matou, I need to speak to you privately."

Sakura Matou blinked in mild confusion before she gave a small nod stood up, following the other girl out of the room. The other students found this odd as well, but didn't question it. It was still before class had actually begun, and who among them would question the school idol?

Once alone in the hallway, Sakura asked "Why do you need to speak to me now? You would have seen me after school anyway."

"This couldn't wait." Rin responded, doing away with the pretense of her status. She then rolled up her sleeve and showed her arm to the other girl.

Sakura let out a gasp at what she saw. "Is that..."

"A Command Seal." Rin said with no small amount of pride. "I have been chosen as a Master for the next War. Of course I wouldn't have expected this seeing as how this is happening 50 years earlier than should, but I will have to work with what I have."

Sakura looked at her sister nervously. "But... why? Why is it happening so soon?"

"I haven't the faintest idea." Rin admitted. "However, this will give me the chance to restore honor to the Tohsaka name. I will not let this opportunity slip through my fingers."

Both of the girls had memories from the 4th War 10 years ago, and in both cases their experiences were far from pleasant. They had also both lost someone dear to them because of it. However, their reactions to the experience were markedly different. Rin had resolved that she would never be so vulnerable again, that she would gain the skill to face the horrors the world might throw at her. Sakura had lost last bit of hope she had left, and didn't want the same thing to happen again. The purple haired girl licked her lips anxiously. "Rin, almost everyone who was in the last War died. Maybe you shouldn't-"

"Shouldn't what?" Rin asked with narrowed eyes. "Shouldn't fight? Shouldn't take the one chance I have to give my father's death some meaning? Absolutely not. I would never be able to call myself a magus if I did that." Sakura flinched a little at her tone. Rin sighed and softened her voice to continue. "I get that you're worried, but I have to do this. I wanted to tell you this now because I don't know how soon the fighting will start. It could be tonight for all we know. I don't even know if…"

"If all the Masters have been chosen." Sakura finished for her grimly. As the power source for the ritual was the Fuyuki leyline, all of the chosen Masters had to be within a certain range of it at the right time to be chosen. There were some rare exceptions in the past, but barring that there were a relatively small number of magi in the area, and not many more outside of it who would detect what was happening in time. That meant there was a good chance that the two sisters would end up facing each other on the battlefield. "Rin, what if-"

"Don't dwell on it." Rin interrupted. "If it does happen, we will discuss how to proceed from there. However, as a certain Pyro would say, we'll burn that bridged when we cross it."

Sakura managed a small laugh before a thought occurred to her. "Rin, what if he gets…"

Rin shivered. "I don't even want to think about that. Knowing him the whole city would be on fire in a matter of days."

"Why is Shirou burring down the city?" a new voice interjected. The two girls turned to find Ayako Mitsuduri walking towards them, and eyebrow arched quizzically. "I assume that who we're talking about when it comes to burning things down."

The sisters spared a glance at each other and put the conversation on hold. Rin turned to Ayako and said with an imperious tone "This is a private conversation and no concern of yours."

However, the brown haired girl gave a snort. "Yeah right. The two of you have snuck out of class and are talking about Shirou? He's my friend too you know, and I'm starting to think that you might know why he seems off today."

Rin frowned in annoyance at how her usual approach failed to work like it did on the rest of the student body. She naturally blamed Shirou for this. Normally the social layout of the high school was fairly separated, with several social circles that could be arranged in a hierarchy like layers of bedrock. There was generally very little mixing between the groups, and considering how the three girls were in different ones, one would question how the three were so close.

Well, if the school was bedrock, Shirou Kotomine was a fault line that went right through it. He showed a complete disregard for social norms, and anyone associated with him tended to get caught in the rockslide together, as it were.

Before Rin could respond, Sakura spoke up. "He's returned from his trip? And what do you mean he's 'off'?"

Ayako shrug. "Hard to say. I ran into him this morning and… well, he's usually a lot happier and energetic when he gets back from one of those trips of his. But this time he was almost reserved. Well, reserved for him anyway. He was even hanging out with Shinji the last time I saw him." The girl's mouth twisted as she said the name. "Seriously Sakura, I'm pretty sure the only reason he hangs out with him is to make you happy. Your brother's kind of a creep."

Sakura looked embarrassed as she looked off to the side. "He's not that bad. He's just misunderstood."

Rin snorted at that, having enough experience with the man to know that Shinji was about as deep as the shallow end of the pool. He was obnoxious and tried to hit on basically every pretty girl at the school, herself and Ayako included. Indeed it amazed her that Shirou put up with the man.

Still, what Ayako said about him being off did concern her too. She knew that many of his leaves from school in the past few years were due to his duties as an Executor, and when he came back happier than usual it meant that he saw some conflict while he was gone. Rin might have passed of Ayako's observation as exaggeration, but she hadn't even been aware that Shirou had returned. Usually he lets her know as soon as he gets back. Well, she would have to hunt him down later in any case to tell him about the War.

"So, we up for Ahnenerbe"s tonight?" Ayako asked, changing the subject.

Sakura shook her head. "I… have something I need to do. I need to go home as soon as school ends." No doubt she wanted to get home and prepare as soon as possible.

"I am afraid the same goes for me as well." Rin said.

Ayako sighed. "Aw, you guys are no fun." Her expression got brighter as she had an idea. "I guess that it'll just be me and Shirou hanging out tonight. Just the two of us… alone. Whatever might happen?" a mischievous smirk crossed the girl's face as she said this.

The two sisters frowned at her, and Rin said "Must you be so shameless with your flirting with him?"

"Ah, you make it sound so scandalous like that." The other girl replied. "Besides, what do you care? Unless you're thinking about making a move on him too."

In spite of herself, Rin felt her face heat up at the suggestion. "O-of course not! Why would I be interested in the idiot like that?"

Sakura flushed a little as well, and she interjected "Well, I'm just worried that you're sending him… mixed signals."

Ayako let out a small laugh at that. "He would have to pick up any signals at all before he could mix them up. Seriously, I could probably strip naked in front of him and he would just ask if I was cold." She chuckled some more as the faces the other two made at this comment. "Ah, don't worry about it. It's just a bit of fun on my part. If it got to that point, I would know when to back off."

Rin was about to asked her what she meant by that when the bell sounded. "Looks like we should get to class." She commented.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to ruin your image Ms. Perfect." Ayako said with a grin as she walked off. "I'll see you at archery practice Sakura!"

Rin looked at the woman's retreating form in mild annoyance, but the light jabs were something she had gotten used to from Ayako by this point. As such, she merely gave a dignified sigh and started walking towards her own classroom, trying not to think to hard about why Shirou might have been behaving strangely.

* * *

_Shirou laughed like a mad man as he dashed through the burning building, his Black Keys slicing into the Dead around him. Arms lashed out at him from all directions, but he was too fast, ducking low and slicing at the legs of the several zombies that had tried to attack him at once. Normally he would have planted the blades into their shadows, activating the magical property of the Black Keys that paralyzed any undead whose shadow they pierced, but the flames that danced all around them made for erratic illumination at best. He would have to use a different approach._

_Shirou rolled forward to get away from the undead that were about to fall on top of him and quickly spun to face the one he missed. It charged at him mindlessly, and he was easily able to run it through the torso. It let out an inhuman scream as the Cremation Sigil placed on the blade caused it to begin burning from the inside out. Shirou was not done, however._

"_**Mittite in nomine Dei iram fero.**__" He incanted, the wretched thing on the end of his sword thrashing even more. "__**Si ignis est mihi, Donat castitate.**__" Smoke began to emit from the creature's mouth and from behind its eyes, and soon a pure white flame erupted from it. Shirou glanced at the Dead that were stumbling and dragging themselves toward him and finished his incantation. "__**Munda cum hoc mundo justum pati et renasci!**__"_

_He let go of the blade and shoved the creature towards the oncoming mob and jumped back. There was only a brief moment as it crashed into the others before it exploded in a burst of holy fire, quickly consuming the rest of the undead and turning them to ash. The explosion shook the building, and Shirou jumped again as the wave of force and fire reached him, riding the wave to launch himself clear of the building moments before it collapsed in on itself. He tumbled to the ground in a smooth roll, a satisfied grin on his face as he came to his feet. A mild pain in his arm distracted him though, and he looked to find that it was burning. He gave a sigh of mild annoyance before he swept his other arm over it with a mutter, causing the flame to be swept of his limb and onto the ground. Shirou had become more and more resistant to fire over the years, but he wasn't quite immune to it yet._

_However, that didn't matter. As he turned to walk through the burning streets, fire danced throughout the buildings all around him. The roar of the flame filled his ears along with the dying screams of the filth that had once plagued the town. The scent of ash carried on the wind and rose into the air, smoke partially obscuring the full moon of the night. The town was being consumed by the inferno, reduced to nothing so that the evil which infested it could be purged and then life could then begin anew._

_It was beautiful to Shirou Kotomine._

_He was not able to take in the sight for too long however, as he caught a sight of motion out of the corner of his eye. With a deft motion, he pulled another Black Key from his overcoat and threw it at a somewhat dark spot in a nearby alley. There was a scream of pain and thud as someone tumbled to the ground. Considering that the Dead did not scream in pain, Shirou assumed that he had found the target._

_Indeed when he walked into the relatively untouched space between the two buildings, he found a small, mousy looking man sprawled on the ground, a blade sticking out of his leg. There were a number of papers and folders scattered around him, and likely the man had been carrying them a moment prior. "Lord Roberval, I presume." Shirou said looking down at the man._

"_Grr, you worthless scum!" the man said through his grit teeth as he clutched his bleeding leg. "Do you have any idea of how much of my research you and your idiotic Church have destroyed?!"_

"_You say that like it was worth existing in the first place." Shirou remarked, drawing more blades as he intended to put an end to the waste of life in front of him. "The same could be said for yourself."_

_Roberval switched from anger to panic at the sight of this. "W-wait! You can't kill me! The Mage's Association will want the research I have!"_

_Shirou paused and frowned. "You know that I am not from the Mage's Association. What makes you think I care?"_

"_They were the ones who told you about me weren't they? I know they put a Sealing Designation on me before I escaped from London, and they must have told the Church that they wanted me alive! I've learned more about the Dead Apostles than anyone else has in decades! Both the Mage's Association and the Church will want what I know!"_

_Shirou's titled his head a little as he lowered his arms, thinking about what the man said. The Mage's Association was the largest organization of magi on the eastern hemisphere, and generally policed their own. When a magus gained knowledge on a subject that was considered forbidden, they would issue a Sealing Designation and have the person captured so that their research (or their person depending on what it was) could be examined. This normally did not involve the Church, whose main duty was the destruction of monsters that threatened humanity, but there were times like this where goals intersected. Roberval was correct when he assumed that Shirou had orders to take him alive if possible._

_There was a moment's pause before Shirou put away his blades, and the other man let out a sigh of relief. It was short lived though, as then a smirk crossed the Executor's face and he threw out his hand. A quick word and sparks ignited among all the papers scattered on the ground, causing them to burn._

"_What!? No!" Roberval shrieked as he saw his work crumbled before him. "What do you think you are doing!? How dare you, you insolent dog!"_

"_See, my orders were to take you alive… if possible." Shriou said, his grin widening so that his teeth were bared. "But given what you've done here, what you've done to these people, well, I don't think it's possible to let you remain in this world any longer. Can you hear their screams amid the flames? They're calling for vengeance. They're calling for your death." As if on cue, the fire began to inch closer to the untouched alleyway, the tongues of flame showing through the walls._

"_You're insane!" Roberval spat. "You have to be if you would throw away such information! Of course, if you truly are hearing voices now, then it will be a service when you are put down for your insubordination!"_

_Shirou shrugged. "Well, I suppose it's just wishful thinking on my part that I can hear them. However, I think I can make a reasonable guess as to-" he abruptly cut himself off and threw a blade at the at the magus's rising hand, pining it to the ground before the second syllable of his spell left his lips. He let out a small chuckle as the man screamed again. "Commendable, but I'm not so foolish as to let my guard down in front of an enemy, even if they do seem helpless. As I was saying, I think I can guess that the former inhabitants of this town would want me to dispose of things like you."_

"_What do you mean, like me?" The other man hissed._

_Shirou's features grew harder and his voice took on a tone of contempt. "Vile. Corrupt. Evil. Things that prey on the weak and innocent. I will burn away every trace of filth from this world to make it as it should be."_

_There was a moment of silence between the two, only the sound of the burning village filling the air. Then Roberval began to laugh. "Hehehe, hahahaha! You insipid little _child_! Only the naïve think good and evil have any meaning in this life." The man put his free hand on his chest. "Do you really think I am any different from the magi back in London? I merely had the courage to walk where they feared to tread! They would have done what I did in a heartbeat if they thought they could get away with it!"_

_Shirou felt anger build in his chest at this, and his fist clenched at his side. He said nothing and the magus continued. "We magi know the truth! What you deem as evil is simply they way things are! The pathetic masses are left feeling safe in their ignorance, while we burden ourselves knowing all the horrors that lurk in the dark that could never be stopped if they decided to kill us all!" He laughed more, and Shirou's face turned into a snarl. The fire around them grew brighter along with his wraith. Roberval pointed at the Executor. "You want to burn away all the filth and darkness? You'll have to burn this entire world to ash! Ahahaha!"_

_Shirou felt something snap, and in a moment of perfect awareness he felt all of the fire around him. His clawed hands thrust out to his sides, as if grabbing hold of the element around him. With a growl Shirou pulled his hands towards Roberval, and like an extension of his will the flames tore through the walls of the alley in a wave, crashing down on the man in a torrent of glorious destruction. Roberval screamed one last time as the fire took him, but Shirou didn't hear it. All he knew that that moment was the roar of the flames and his rage at the darkness before his._

_As fast as it came though, the awareness left him, and he was left standing alone in a smoldering alley with an empty feeling in his chest. He didn't know what had just happened, only that the words of the magus had made him so angry. He tried to reach out to the fire again, but he felt nothing. He stood there for some time, before he turned and made his way to find the other Executors he had been sent with. They would want to know the target was dead after all._

Shirou gazed at the small fire he had made at the edge of the school grounds, thinking about the mission he was just on. Try as he might, he just couldn't shake that man's words of how futile what he did was. When his father had told him all those years ago that he was going to be an Executor, it just seemed right to him. Scourging darkness from wherever it lurked was completely natural for him, and when he claimed the title two years ago it just served to make things official.

But even before then, he had noticed there was never exactly a shortage of terrible things in the world. Monsters truly could be in any shadow, and no mater how many he killed or stopped, there was always more. For every wonder the supernatural had, there were two horrors. And magi were hardly any better in this regard. It hadn't even been the first time that he had to kill one for the horrible crimes they committed.

"Hmp. It seems like that woman was right. You really are sulking for some reason." Shirou turned towards the voice and found Rin standing behind him, her hand on her hip as she looked at him. "Though at least you're still doing so by burning something on school property, so I know that the world isn't ending."

Shirou frowned at her. "I am not sulking."

"You're sitting quietly in a corner of the school grounds rather than getting into the far more spectacular and violent trouble that you're known for, which is to say nothing of how you seem to be avoiding the company beautiful women such as myself and Sakura. And Ayako." She added grudgingly before giving the man a knowing look. "You're sulking."

Shirou sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry. I've had a lot on my mind."

"And that's why you were spending more time than was absolutely necessary with that sleazily little twit? Honestly, I find it commendable that you want to keep Sakura happy, but since when would you rather be with him than us?"

Shirou blinked in confusion before he realized who she was talking about. "You mean Shinji? Well, yeah, he's not the best person around, but… I've managed to get a sort of report with him. I think there's an English word for this… or right, 'frienemies'." Shirou said, using finger quotes as he did. "He insults me, I punch him a little, it's a thing we have going." He shrugged. "Besides, it's sort of part of a project I'm doing. I want to see if I can make him a better person."

"You… Shirou Kotomine… want to make Shinji Matou a better person… rather than just beating him into unconsciousness like all of your other problems." Rin said incredulously. She then pinched the bridge of her nose. "I take it back, the world is coming to an end."

"Come on, don't be so dramatic. Besides, I think its working. When he noticed that I was kinda down, he cheered me up by giving me some porn magazines."

Rin appeared to choke on her own tongue for a moment and she sputtered in shock "W-w-what?! Since when h-have you been interested in those p-perverted things?"

Shirou scratched his chin in thought. "Oh, since I found out about them when I was ten, I guess." He felt a little confused when Rin's face rapidly started to change to a shade of crimson, so he gestured to the fire. "I mean, the chemicals they use in the paper cause the flames to burn in a rather wide range of colors. I find it to be rather soothing, actually."

Rin's embarrassment quickly switched to one of confusion. "Wait, you just like to burn them? You never actually bother to look inside them?"

"Why would I do that?" Shirou asked, not sure what she was getting at.

There was a long silence between the two of them as Rin just gaped at the man. Eventually the silence was broken when she shook her head and said "There is something wrong with you, Pryo."

"What do you mean?"

"I, just… never mind." She rubbed her forehead with her hand. "Look, there was something I needed to tell you. The 5th Holy Grail War has begun."

Shirou blinked. "What? How is that possible? That's supposed to happen every 60 years, and the last one was only 10 years ago."

"I'm not sure, but it means that this city is going to become very dangerous soon. I've already told Sakura, and she went home to prepare."

Shirou grunted at this. It wasn't until sometime after he had met Sakura that he learned that the Matou family was in fact a magus family, and the reason he never knew was that the magic in the family had been weakening for the past several generations. As far as he knew, Shinji and Sakura had no magical ability at all, but it was still wise of Rin to let her know what was happening. "Wonderful." He muttered. "We're going to have seven _magi_ of all people waging a secret war in the city."

Rin looked like she was going to say something but stopped when she noticed his tone. "And just what is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her own tone becoming somewhat chilled.

"It means that we'd be better of if that useless trash fought their stupid war somewhere else." He said darkly.

Rin's eyes narrowed at this comment. "Oh? Since when did you gain such a low opinion of magi? Her tone turned to ice. "And since when were you foolish enough to insult one so brazenly to her face?"

"Huh? Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about me!" She hissed.

He looked back at her confused. "What? No no no, you're not a magus."

Rin flinched back as if struck. "What?! I'm better at magecraft than you'll ever be! How could you say that!?"

"Because you would never turn an entire town into vampires just to save your own hide." Shirou said plainly. "You would never take apart living people with interesting magical abilities just to see what made them tick. You would never create a War in a densely populated city that could claim hundreds of innocent lives if something went wrong, and then just write those lives off like they were nothing. You're better than them Rin, and that's why you're not a magus."

Rin's face twisted through a number of emotions when he said this, ranging from anger, frustration, and maybe even a little gratitude if he read her right. Frustration won out eventually, and she threw up her hands. "Gah! Fine! Go and sulk for all I care! I have things to do!" And with that she stormed off.

Shirou felt a little bad at how upset she looked, but he was not overly worried about it. A lot of his conversations with her ended with her getting mad at him and storming off. Or punching him. She would come around a day or two later, as such was the odd cycle of their friendship. He would have to actually thank her about telling him about the War, too. She looked like she had something else to say about it as well, but it must not have been very important.

Shirou looked back at the fire and sighed, thinking about what this meant for him. He'd tell his father of course, and the priest would probably become the moderator for the war, just like his father before him. Shirou himself would likely be told not to get involved, being associated with the Church and all. The thought caused a cold pit to form in his stomach, as he hated the idea of magi in his home city fighting over a wish.

_Well, if you had the chance, what would you wish for?_ Shirou blinked as the thought came to him, and found that he didn't have an immediate answer. _Do I really want to just burn the world to the ground if it's beyond saving?_ He thought to himself darkly. _If that's what it took, would I do it? All I want… I just want something bright… something pure._

If Shirou hadn't been so focused on his own thoughts, he might have noticed the symbols carving themselves onto the back of his left hand.

* * *

The girl sighed as the limo pulled up the driveway to the manor which had seen better days. She had come here all the way from London because her parents wanted something from the old estate but were too busy to come get it themselves. The girl had asked why they couldn't just have one of the servants do it, but they insisted that one of the family had to do it, both on the principle of the matter, and that the materials she was collecting were protected such that only one with the family magecraft to access them.

_I still wish that I didn't have to fly to the other side of the planet though_, she thought to herself as she stepped out of the car and looked at the building with a frown_. Fuyuki City is alright, I suppose, but it is still a far cry from most cities in Europe._

She held back a grumble, as doing so would be unladylike. _I wish that my parents wouldn't send me on such trivial tasks. I wish that I could be back in London, getting the respect I deserve. I wish I could be working on my magecraft to perfect it. I wish… that my arm would stop aching?_ The girl rubbed her arm in confusion before detaching the sleeve, and was greeted by the sight of a set of Command Seals.

Luviagelita Edelfelt blinked in surprise before her studies of her family's history caught up with her, and an excited smile crossed her face. She spun on the porter who was taking things out of the trunk. "Jarvis! Contact Mother and Father immediately!" she yelled. "The Edelfelts have much to do!"

* * *

A/N: A Master revealed, and it looks like Luvia is joining the fray. She isn't the only nonstandard master I've added to the roster for this story, so I'm curious as to what you think.

Though really, this chapter is mostly about showing Shirou's current state and how he feels about things. As can clearly be seen, he's developed some disgust for magi, as he has seen the worse they can offer. To be far they're not all like that though: most are just assholes rather than monsters. It also shows the somewhat odd way he thinks when it comes to Rin. Magi are terrible human beings, Rin is not a terrible human being, therefore Rin is not magus. He finds it odd the others don't think that way.

On a related note, I'm also trying to show that this Shirou, like the original, is rather oblivious when it comes to the opposite sex, but it's more a symptom of a greater problem in his case. The original was just an idiot; Shirou Kotomine genuinely incapable of feeling romantic and sexual attraction at this point. He understands it on an intellectual level, but for the most part he's asexual.

Of course, given the source material, you can safely bet that's not going to last very long.


	3. Chapter 2

Shirou pushed open the doors of the Church and briskly walked down the aisle. "Hey old man! I need to talk with you!" He shouted to empty air. "There's some important stuff going down!"

He paused and waited for a few moments, standing amid the pews. It wasn't long before his father blended out of the dark corners of the church and said. "Must you always shout when you need my presence rather than coming to find me?" The older man asked.

"Yes." Shirou said flatly. The church in which the two of them lived had a surprisingly large number of nooks and crannies in it, and Kirei's habit of keeping the place poorly lit made often made searching for anyone or thing after nightfall somewhat difficult. Besides, the young man was sure that Kirei did it on purpose because he got his rocks off on mysteriously appearing out of the shadows anyway. "Whatever the case, you need to hear this. The 5th Holy Grail war is happing now."

Kirei did not give much of a reaction to this news other than an arch of an eyebrow. "Really? That is… unexpected."

Shirou frowned at this. "That's how you respond to the new that a bunch of magi are going to be tearing up the city? Seriously, you'd think for the sake of your job you could all least pretend to be concerned."

"I do not see the use in panicking. Normally I would say that your own concern is exaggerated, but I suppose experience says otherwise." The priest remarked, giving a meaningful glance at Shirou's burns. "However, even if it is as bad as you assume, the correct response is to stay calm to deal with the situation."

The teenager couldn't help but snort at the typical response. To someone who had just met the man, Kirei's response might have seemed like a logical, if dispassionate statement, but Shirou knew better. There was something just… unnatural about his father. The teen had never been particularly good with people in that respect, so he couldn't really pin down what it was, but the man just didn't sit right with him for some reason. It wasn't because he was unemotional either. Shirou, while very different from those more detached from their emotions, never felt the same sense of disquiet as he did around Kirei.

Still, the priest had saved Shirou all those years ago and raised him as his own, so there had to be something decent in there. After a moment he simply shook his head and said "Fine. How will you calmly deal with the situation?"

"First I will have to check the accuracy of this claim, though that should only require a simple ritual to divine the Grail. However, I have to ask how you came to know of this."

"Rin told me about it." Shiou said plainly.

"And how does she know about it?"

Shirou paused for a moment. "I don't know, she didn't say."

A strange little smirk crossed Kirei's lips. "Well, I suppose I can guess. She does try so hard to take after her father." His eyes glanced downward slightly before coming back up to Shirou's face. "Did you get into a fight before you came here? I would have hoped that you would have enough sense to clean up so you don't track blood on my carpet. "

The teen just looked confused at this. "What are you talking about? I was on good behavior today, so I don't-" he cut himself off when he looked down at himself and noticed the small bit of red dripping of his left hand. "What the? When did this happen?" He wiped it off on his pants and took a closer look at it to see the wound, but was surprised to find instead what looked to be a tattoo. It was in 3 separate parts, and together it looked nothing so much like flames in the shape of a blade. "What the hell is this?"

Kirei came over to look and gave an interested hum on seeing the mark. "It seems that I will not have to check after all. That is a Command Seal if I have ever seen one. The Grail has chosen you."

"What?" Shirou said incredulously. "How is that possible? I didn't even know it was happening until an hour ago."

The priest gave a sigh. "It seems you were not paying attention to your lessons when I spoke of the previous war. If you had you would know that knowledge of the Grail is not necessary to become a Master. There is no ritual to perform in that respect. The Grail will choose suitable applicants that happen to be in the area at the time, so long as they have a desire to be wished for."

"But I don't want-" Shirou started before he paused again. No, that wasn't true. Just earlier he had been thinking about how the world was such a messed up place and what it would take to fix it. Was that why he was chosen? "What happens now?"

"At the moment, we need to inform the Church that this is happening, as it is the job of our organization to moderate the War. Given the circumstances, it seems likely that I will take my father's place as administrator."

Shirou frowned. "But wait, I'm an Executor. I work for the Church. How is that supposed to work?" He blinked. "And for that matter, how did you participate in the last War? Doesn't this form a conflict of interests?"

"Ostensibly, Masters are considered to be operating on their own motivations when in the war." Kirei responded. "Furthermore, the fact that Masters are selected at random abates suspicion."

Shirou was not convinced however. "Ostensibly?"

Kirei gave a small shrug. "Considering that all it takes to be a Mater is to be in the right place at the right time, it may have been possible that the Church decided that is would be… prudent to stack the deck a little."

The teen snorted at this. "Normally I'd be disappointed at the Church being so underhanded, but… well, they're magi. Who would want one of them to get a wish?"

"It is good that you feel that way, as that was essentially what the Church was thinking at the time as well." Kirei nodded. "It was decided that I would assist Tokiomi Tohsaka in achieving the Grail as he had the simple and boring wish of reaching the Akashic Records."

Shirou mentally wondered at how reaching the Root of all Things could be considered a boring goal, but he instead said. "I didn't know that."

"You would if you ever showed any interest in history." His father chastised. "I would have thought that the 4th War would have been a subject of interest for you considering how it has shaped your life."

"Whatever, I'm interested now." Shirou said with a dismissive wave. In truth, the results and consequences of the 4th War were important to him, but the details not so much. "Tell me everything."

"Soon. As I said before, the Church must be informed as soon as possible, especially about yourself. I imagine that they will find a use for you."

Shirou frowned. "I'm not teaming up with one of those bastards. If I could, I would kill every one of them before they could taint the city with their filth."

For some reason, Kirei's mouth twitched upwards at this. "Well, while normally I would remind you that the Church and the Mages Association would be displeased if you started killing any magi you felt like, you are a Master now. It is fully expected that you'll use any means necessary to achieve victory. If lethal force is your choice, that is acceptable."

Shirou blinked in surprise at this, before a blood thirsty grin split his face. It was rare that he got the chance to operate as he wanted. "Good." He gripped his fist in front of him, and small embers dropped from it. "It doesn't matter who they are. I will make them burn."

An unsettling grin settled on to his father's face as well. "I'm counting on it."

* * *

Sakura walked in through the front door of the Matou manor, trying to keep herself calm. She was not entirely successful, though she encountered no one on her way to her room. Once there, she walked to the bookshelf in the corner and picked out one on Bounded Fields for study. Most of Sakura's 'training' was more… physical, but she still had to know the basics, and for that there was a small cache of study materials in her room. The times when she cared to study magic of her own will were far and few between, but Sakura wanted to be ready when the War started. She didn't want to lose the people she cared about again.

Her hand shook slightly as she turned the page. Memories of her uncle Kariya lying on the ground in front of her dying came unbidden to her mind. She shook her head to get rid of the memories. It was always a reminder to her that she was not meant to be happy, and yet… here she was trying to cling on to what little she had. She had friends who she enjoyed being around. Ayako had always treated her as an equal, and Sakura had never thought that she would reconnect with her sister. The purple haired girl couldn't say that she was truly close to Rin (The other girl had yet to truly know what she had gone through since their father had given her up), but it was much better than she could have reasonably hoped for considering they were part of different magi families.

However, if she was being honest with herself, the one she was really thinking about was Shirou. That boy who had only ever been nice to her, who only ever seemed to see good things in her, the one who gave her no choice but to fall in love with him. She loved Shirou, but that love was shadowed by a deep seated gnawing fear. He had made it no secret how much he despised the evil, corrupted things in the world, and how much he enjoyed destroying them. Though it wasn't of her own choosing, Sakura had been tainted and made into that which he hated. To be honest, it wasn't the thought of him killing her that disgusted her so; and least then she would know release at the hands of one she cared about. What she truly feared above all else was Shirou looking at her with disgust and loathing when he found out what she really was.

In spite of that, Sakura still wanted to keep him safe. She wanted to be with him as long as she could before the world turned on her again. Shirou would never stay out of a War that was happening inside of his city, whether or not he actually became a Master. _I want to protect him_, she thought to herself. _I want to be able to keep him alive. I know it's selfish, but please grant me this._

She wasn't sure how long she studied for, but it was a few hours at least. Her forearm had started to irritate her at some point for some reason, but she ignored it. After a while she snapped out of her focus and looked at the clock, blinking when she realized that it was time for bed. She gave a sigh of annoyance, but she felt that she had made some progress, as she now had some ideas for defensive fields. Sakura idly started to remove her cloths to get ready for bed. It wasn't until she had stripped off her top when she noticed the markings on her forearm.

Sakura blinked in confusion for a moment before a creeping sense of horror settled over her. She knew what these tattoos were: Command Seals.

"Oh no…" she whispered to herself. "Oh no, no, please no…"

She didn't want this. She just wanted to protect the people she cared about not actually fight in the War! And if grandfather found out, then she'd have to fight. At the very least she would have to fight her sister, and if Shirou became a Master… Sakura felt panic raise in her at this thought and began to frantically look around her room for a knife. Grandfather didn't know yet. Maybe she could slice the skin off before-

"Oh? What are fretting about, Sakura?" A gravelly voice said from the doorway.

Sakura froze in fear and slowly turned. Zouken Matou stood in the doorway, a small, knowing smirk on his face. She instinctively clasped a hand over her forearm, though she gave no actual attempt at modesty. There was no point considering what he had already done to her. "G-grandfather," she stuttered out. "It's n-nothing. I think I've lost-"

"The Grail has chosen you to be a Master" Zouken interrupted. Sakura's eyes widened, and the man in front of the girl gave a sickening grin. "Oh come now, you can't hope to hide such a thing for me. I have my ways of keeping an eye on the Grail System, and I've known for a while now that the 5th War would be starting soon. I can also tell when a Master is chosen. Though you don't seem to be happy about it."

Sakura looked down at the ground in defeat. She should have known better. She wasn't supposed to be happy. "I'm sorry, grandfather."

Zouken simply grunted at this. "Well, it doesn't matter. You're not going to be the one fighting anyway." She looked up at the man in surprise and he continued. "I have plans for you, and you're far too valuable to send out into a war. Besides, you're too weak to stomach real fighting anyway."

The girl felt confused. "Then, what am I to do? Will I not be summoning a Servant?"

"Of course you will you stupid girl." Zouken chastised. "You simply won't be the one controlling it. Shinji will handle that task." He gestured off to the side, and Sakura found her brother standing slight behind and off to the side of him, a familiar gleam in his eye as he looked at her. "It is late now, but we will start early tomorrow for your additional training. There is much work to be done."

Without saying another word, the old man turned walked away, leaving the two teens alone with each other. Sakura shifted awkwardly. "You must be happy about this, Shinji."

The boy gave a snort. "Please. I'm just finally getting what I'm owed. Once I have your Servant under my control, things will be the way they should have always been. And once I win the Grail, the whole world will know it too."

Sakura looked off to the side. "How… how are you planning to win?"

"What do you mean how?" He asked in annoyance.

"Well, you're going to have to keep the Servant supplied with prana somehow." She said slowly. "And while I know it might by easier, you don't have too-"

"To what? Harvest souls for power?" He sneered. "Who gives a fuck about the worthless plebeians in the city." His eyes then narrowed at her. "But you're not thinking about them. You're thinking about _him_ aren't you?"

"I-I don't-"

Shinji quickly cleared the distance between the two of them and slapped her across the face. "Don't play dumb with me you stupid bitch!" he spat. "I'm talking about that thuggish imbecile Shirou that you always seem to have a wet cunt for! Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to be his 'friend'? For him to constantly act superior to you and punch you if you displease him?!"

Sakura shrunk back a little. "I'm sure he doesn't mean it like that. I just wanted-"

She had not backed away far enough though, as Shinji reached out and slapped her again. "That's right! It's all your fucking fault!" He yelled at her. "You're the one who told him to try to be friends with me, and that dumbass always does what you tell him to!"

He then grabbed her by the wrist and threw her on the bed. She tumbled on to her back, and in short order Shinij was mounted on top of her. "Well, tonight, you're going to do what I tell you." He said with a dark look in his eye and a lecherous grin on his face. "And while you enjoy it like the whore you are, you can think about how I'm going to make that bastard pay for every slight he gave me."

This was far from the first time Shinji had forced himself onto her. Zouken had encouraged it, as sex helped stabilize her… condition. As such, her mind simply drifted off when he pressed his mouth to hers and the routine that was her life continued on.

* * *

Night had fallen over the city of Fuyuki, and there were not many still wandering the streets. Though it was by no means a dangerous town to be in after dark, there were of course still places one didn't go if they didn't have to, or if you didn't know how to handle yourself. For a woman walking up to the door of a club in a certain part of downtown though, both of those things were covered.

A man in a suit who was clearly standing guard stepped out in front of her. "Excuse me miss, but this is a private club. I'll have to ask you to leave."

"I need to speak with your boss." The woman said curtly and with the hint of an accent. "I should have an appointment."

He frowned at her for a moment before he reached inside of his suit and pulled out a walkie talkie, turning to say something into it under his breath. After a few moments pause some chatter came back, to which he nodded and put it away before turning back to the woman. "My apologies miss, it seems you are correct. Fujimura-sama will see you now."

The woman said nothing to this, simply moving past the man and into the club. The main room was filled with men talking, drinking, and gambling, along with a few women who were clearly of questionably repute. However, the woman knew that the man she was looking for would not be in this room, and made her way to a side door when another man signaled her over. Unfortunately, one of the more inebriated men in the room stepped in front of her. "Hey baby, wheres you going?" he slurred. "The party's right here."

One of the men behind the lout looked unsure. "Hey man, I don't think she's with the other girls." He said.

Indeed, dressed as she was in a crisp business suit and carrying a briefcase, the woman looked far more professional than the other women present. "Your friend is right. I have business to take care of, so please move aside."

"Ah come on, don't be likes that." The man with greasy hair persisted, reaching out to her. "Loosen up alittle."

The woman did not care to deal with the drunkard any longer, so she simply reached out, grabbed his hand and squeezed hard. There was an audible crunch.

"Gaahh!" He screamed, pulling back his mangled digits. "Why?! Why is it always the fucking hand?!"

Some of the other men seemed for find this exchange funny, but none of them failed to give the woman a wide birth as she continued to the side door. On entering, she was led down a few hallways until she found herself at a set of double doors. They were opened for her to reveal a large and well-furnished room. On the far wall there was a large TV showing a Sumo wrestler competition.

And on the couch in front of the TV, with a cigar in one hand and a bottle of sake in the other, Raiga Fujimura shouted in excitement at the sport of two men shoving each other around. "Come on! He's weak on his left! Go low and put your damn weight into it!" Moments later one of the large men lost his footing due to a well-placed shove and tumbled out of the ring, caused the old man to spring to his feet and cheer. "Yata! Now that's some fighting spirit right there!" He exclaimed before taking a long pull of his alcohol.

While some may have been put off by the sight of the head of the local Yakuza chapter acting like common sports hooligan (particularly other Japanese people), the sight was oddly familiar to the woman. Her home nation was hardly unfamiliar with sports fever, and the old man in particular reminded her of her uncle Shamus right then. She always considered the man as a father to her, as her real father was always more interested in training her rather than being there for her. A wistful smile came to her lips as she thought of the time he had taken her to her first football game. And consequently her first football riot. Which Shamus started. Afterward, he justified it to her father by saying it was a training exercise.

Lost in memories as she was, she was a little taken off guard when Raiga, without turning around, said "So, I heard a little ruckus. Do I have you to blame for that?"

The woman snapped out of her thoughts and said. "Sorry, but one of your men mistook me for a call girl and invaded my personal space. I corrected him."

Surprisingly, the old man shook his head and gave a small chuckle. "Ah, it must have been Takato. I swear, that boy gets into all sorts of trouble." He finally turned to look at the woman, revealing a hard, wrinkled face with a wide nose. His eyes though were sharp and full of energy. "I've got to admit, I was more than a little surprise when I found out you wanted to meet with me."

The woman's brow furrowed at this. "You make it sound as if you know of me already."

"Only tangentially." He said with a shrug. "An old friend moved in the same kind of circles your family does. Lucky for you it seems, even on the other side of the world, the name Fraga has some weight."

Bazette Fraga McRemitz arched an eyebrow at this. "And here I was thinking that no one in Japan would know about me in the slightest."

Raiga waved his hand. "Eh, I'm probably one of the only few people who does, at least in Fuyuki." He took a pull on his cigar, and his tone changed ever so slightly. "I'm also probably one of the few who knows that some serious shit goes down wherever one of you shows up."

Bazette then became acutely aware of all the other men in the room, how their hands had drifted to what she knew must be gun holsters. She wasn't afraid, though; she knew she could kill everyone here without much effort. However, that wouldn't be very helpful. "I am here for business, not to cause trouble."

"So you say." The old man said. "I'm an old man whose life has taken him to the darker part of the world. I'm not saying I've seen everything though, as even I've learned there are places you just don't go. But your family is one of those that do. Normally I wouldn't care one bit, but lately I'm been getting this feeling that something dark and nasty is coming to this city. Call it an old man's intuition." He tilted his head down somewhat and looked at her with a piecing gaze. "So you can imagine that you showing up has put me a little on edge."

The Irish woman narrowed her eyes at the man in turn, trying to figure out how much he knew. She wasn't sure how'd she'd proceed if the man before her had knowledge of the supernatural world. Normally she'd be forced to remove such information if possible, or kill him if it wasn't. Again, that wouldn't have been very helpful for her, though. "And just how do you know these things about my family?"

"Like I said, an old friend." Raiga said. "He was more familiar with that part of the world."

"Who is he? I think I might like to have a word with him."

Raiga gave a snort. "Easier said than done. But enough about all that. You want something from me, but first I need to know just what the hell is going on in this damn city that has got your attention. And don't try to feed me any shit about how it's none of my business. This city is my business, and while I'm might have given you some weight, don't think that it'll mean a damn if push comes to shove."

Bazette frowned at this, carefully considering what she would do next. She preferred to be straight up when it came to deals, though she most certainly couldn't tell the man everything. The biggest problem however, was that she didn't really know what he was talking about. "I don't know." She said.

The man blinked. He hadn't expected that response. "What?"

"I said I don't know." She reiterated. "The reason I'm here is because I'm looking for a man which took something from me. I will admit that there are parts of this which… stray into the 'places you don't go', as you put it, but I don't think it has anything to do with whatever your intuition is telling you."

In spite of what she said though, Bazette wasn't ready to completely discount what Raiga thought. It wasn't unheard of for normal people to have a heightened sense for the supernatural, and the man before here did not strike her as the type to see shadows where there were none. There was also the remote possibility that the man she was searching for was responsible, but that was unlikely.

Raiga looked at her critically for a few moments before giving a sigh. "Eh, you don't seem to be pulling my leg, but I still don't trust you completely. Tell me, just who is this man you need help finding?"

"He is a member of the Holy Church. As I said, he stole something from my family. I've chased him across northern Europe and Russia before he came here to avoid me."

Raiga looked stern. "You might want to be careful what you say next. We're pretty friendly with the Church around these parts. My granddaughter's friends with the priest in training here, so we're going to have some problems if he's the one you want to take down."

Bazette shook her head. "No, he's not local, I can guarantee that. I can also guarantee that the piece of trash won't be missed after I'm through with him." She held out her brief case, which was taken by one of the men in suits. "Inside is info on the man as well as money for your assistance in finding him. He's proven to be a slippery bastard and can tell when I'm coming, so I need some… outside help in tracking him down."

The Yakuza boss was given the suit case and he looked over the information. Eventually he said, "Hmm, pretty damning stuff. Alright, I think we can work something out. However, I need to add one caveat to this deal: if you find that something up your alley is going down in this city, you tell me."

After that the meeting turned into negotiations and logistics. It was pretty standard fair, so Bazette's mind drifted. She felt the embers of her hate for her quarry burn in her stomach but she managed to keep it under control. She still wasn't sure just what was going through that psychopath's mind or just what his goals were, but she would not let him slip through her fingers again. She was on leave from her duties as a Clock Tower Enforcer at the moment, but she would make him pay for what he took.

The man was a member of the 8th Sacrament, a division of the Church which did research and development for their war against the inhuman. He had been collecting magical artifacts across Europe when he stole one of the Fraga clan's most prized possessions: Fragarach, Gouging Sword of the War God. It was a Nobel Phantasm that only her clan could create and use. It wasn't known what he would gain from having it, but the Fraga would not let such an insult stand. They couldn't tell anyone what had happened due to fear of looking weak, so Bazette had been sent to handle the matter personally.

However, the weapon was not this thing that hurt the woman so. That was the thing the man had taken from the clan, not what he had taken from _her_. He had killed Shamus in obtaining it. The same uncle who she had come to think off as her father. She had loved the man dearly, and had sworn over his grave that she would make his killer pay.

Sancraid Phahn would pay.

* * *

A/N: If you haven't guessed, you're supposed to hate Shinji in this fic.

Furthermore, while I usually make my fics M just in case I want to add mature elements at some point, I am fully intending and making use of it in this one, so be prepared for that.

Anyway, I also feel I have to apologize for my slow update rate. In addition to the other fics I'm writing, I've been finding less and less time to write lately due to my job. Originally I wanted to put out a chapter of something a week, but now it's more like every 1.5 – 2 weeks. Hopefully things will speed up in the future. This chapter was shorter because I wanted to finish it and adding the next part would have made the pacing weird as it takes place a week later.

Till next time, enjoy your canon immigrant from Fate/Prototype.


	4. Chapter 3

"So, what do you think they're doing?" Ayako asked as they walked to school.

"Who?" Shirou asked.

"Duh, Rin and Sakura." She replied. "Come on, you have to know something. They both dropped off the face of the earth for the past few days at the same time. You can't say that it's a coincidence. "

Shirou shifted uncomfortably a bit. "Not sure what I can tell you."

It had almost been a week since Shirou ran into either Sakura or Rin. The two of them had either been ducking out of school as soon as they could or not showing up at all. Granted with the War starting up soon he could understand why they would be busy, but he still found it ironic that he was the one attending class regularly. It was true that he was also learning new things in preparation, but it was mostly just knowledge for the summoning ritual. He already had time set aside for physical training.

He felt bad about lying to his friend, but it couldn't be helped. She would end up getting hurt one way or another if she learned the truth about what was going on. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to give her something, lest she start poking around and end up right in the middle of danger.

He was saved from thinking of anything at that moment, as it was then that the two of them reached the gates of Homurahara Gakuen. Walking in among several other students was one of the girls in question. "Hey, Rin!" Ayako yelled out, and the dark haired girl turned to look at them. "Where have you been?"

"I have been… busy." She said neutrally. Rin shot a brief glance at Shirou before looking back at their mutual friend, though he couldn't guess the reason for it.

"Oh come on, don't be like that." The brown haired girl said in annoyance. "Why is it all of you guys have been so secretively lately? What going on here?"

Rin adopted the pose she usually used when she intended to lecture someone and said "You are just being paranoid. I will have you know that someone at the city government made a grievous error in relation to several of the older estates throughout the city, marking them as owned by the state rather than their rightful owners. I have needed to spend the past few days with lawyers and bureaucrats fixing this idiotic injustice before they tried to kick me out of my own home. I can only imagine that Sakura was busy with the same." It wasn't a bad lie for the time being, but she was going to have to make sure to corroborate with Sakura at some point.

"Really? That's weird…" Ayako said with a frown, clearly not entirely believing the story. "But why would Sakura be out for that? Isn't her grandfather in charge of stuff like that?"

"Yes, but he's very old." Rin replied. Shirou snorted at that. To call Zouken Matou old was like saying a bonfire was a little warm. He had only met the man a few times but Shirou found his presence even more disquieting than his father's. It may have just been Shirou's general dislike of magi, but there was just something that felt fundamentally _wrong_ with the man. That displeasure was one of the few things he actually shared with his father.

Rin spared another glance at him before continuing. "As I was saying, the man is old and probably needed assistance."

"Yeah, but Shinji's been coming to school. Why wouldn't he…" Ayako trailed off, actually thinking about the competence of one Shinji Matou. "…never mind. I guess that does make sense. Anyways, it's been a while since we all hung out. What say we hunt down Sakura and have some fun tonight?"

As the two talked and worked out their schedules, Shirou was wondering when he would be able to get Rin alone, as he really needed to talk to her about the War. The higher ups from the Church had been informed of the situation and concluded that if the Tohsaka did become a Master, Shirou was to assist her, much like their parents before them. _Not that it did them much good_, Shirou mentally grumbled to himself. While he never really considered either her or himself as a magus, he had to concede that it was possible that she was chosen to be a Master as well.

He tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Ayako say "-and not too much has happen while you were out, except that I've heard that there's a foreign girl whose been around and thinking of enrolling."

Rin quirked an eyebrow at this. "This late in the term? It would make more sense to wait for the next semester."

Ayako shrugged. "Yeah, it's weird. I've also heard that she's really rich and highbrow, kinda like you around people who don't know better." Shirou didn't fail to see Rin's eyebrow twitch at this comment, or Ayako's smirk at seeing it. "There's a good chance you might see her today. That would be an interesting meeting in my opinion."

"I haven't run into her yet." Shirou added. "I don't think she frequents the same places I do."

"Who would?" Rin grumbled slightly. She then straightened a bit and looked past the two them. "Tell me, is this girl so garish as to show up to a high school in a limo?"

"I think I remember hearing something to that effect." Shirou said. "Why do you ask?"

Rin wordlessly pointed behind them, and the other two turned to see a black limo pulling up to the school gates. It was black, sleek, and spoke of money. A driver in a simple uniform and cap got out of the front to walk back and open the door for his passenger. The girl who emerged from the car looked to be about Shirou's age, and her very presence spoke of aristocracy. From the way that she held herself to the very fine blue and white dress she wore, she looked very much like nobility. She was also clearly of European origin, with pale skin and a mass of blonde hair in ringlets.

Ayako whistled "Damn. That girl's got style, I'll give her that."

Rin's frown had not left her face however. "Hmp. She's just showing off how much money she has. And that dress makes her look like a high class courtesan." She grumbled. "What's her name, and where is she from anyway?"

Ayako put a finger to her lips. "I've heard her name before, but it's hard as hell to remember and even worse to pronounce. I think she's from Finland, though."

Rin went shift at hearing this, and her eyes widened. "No… you have to be kidding me…"

Shirou was about to ask her what was wrong, but the foreign girl noticed the three of them staring at her and she made her way over to them. "Hello, potential classmates." She said primly and with only the hint of an accent. "I know that it is hard not to look upon my radiance with awe, but please try to think of me as one of your equals instead."

"No problem." Shirou said, finding her request perfectly reasonable. He didn't understand the strange look she gave him after he said that, but he figured it was due to his burns. People were often unsettled by him due to his appearance until they got to know him. Then many were still unsettled by him for a number of other reasons, but he had less of a grasp on those.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Ayako said, taking the girl's attention. "I'm Ayako Mitsuduri."

"Ah, of course, I should introduce myself as well. I am Luviagelita-"

"Edelfelt." Rin finished for the other girl flatly.

There was a moment of silence and surprise on the part of everyone there. Except for Shirou. "Huh, you're right. I don't think I could pronounce any of that."

Luvia ignored him and turned her attention to Rin, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I am sorry, you seem to have me at a disadvantage. Who might you be?"

Rin flashed the other girl one of her best fake smiles. There was a hint of fang in it "Hello, I am Rin Tohsaka. I'm sure I'll be able to help you if you feel lost or confused at school, though I'm afraid you won't be able to copy anyone else's work here."

Luvia blinked before a wolfish grin of her own split her face. "A Tohsaka, how quaint. And here I was thinking that excuse of a lineage had been wiped out."

"So… you two, uh, know each other?" Ayako asked awkwardly as the tension rose.

"Not personally." Rin said, her eyes still locked on Luvia. "Our families have… known of each other for some time though. You could say that my family taught theirs everything they know." She with a sweet and acidic smile.

Luvia merely laughed haughtily at this. "Oh please, I can't believe you lot are still going on about that outrageous lie. I suppose it's all you have to comfort you considering all of your greatest achievements were done by your ancestors hundreds of years ago."

The air between the two girls was charged, and it seemed like one wrong word could make the whole situation go south rather quick. Ayako decided that she'd rather not have things get ugly between the two, so she spoke up in the most calming tone she could manage. "Ok… so your families have had a rough history, but that doesn't mean that you have to be enemies. You two only just met! Try thinking of it as a new beginning or something." The other two girls looked wholly unconvinced, simply glaring at each other some more. Akayo looked at the only other person present for back up. "Uh, right Shirou?"

"Huh?" Shirou said, turning his attention away from the limo driver. The man had been idly taking pictures of the surrounding neighborhood with a digital camera, but the teen had not failed to notice that his gaze drifted toward the group warily every so often. "I'm sorry, who am I agreeing with and why?"

"You're agreeing with me that this dressed up witch is full of herself and can go right back to frozen wasteland that is her home." Rin said sharply.

Shirou glanced back at Luvia with an up turned eyebrow. "I don't know. She hasn't really done anything yet. Are you sure?"

Luvia simply laughed again. "It seems like your position isn't as strong as you might think. Even your retainer can see you're nothing but a lot of ignorant hot air."

Shirou frowned at this. "Well, no actually. Rin's actually really intelligent. She's probably the smartest person I know."

Rin smiled smugly at this, but Luvia just arched an eyebrow. "Oh? So she has you under her spell that she's actually perfect in every way?"

The teen let out a chuckle at this. "Oh God no, she's definitely far from perfect." A tick mark formed on Rin's head. "I mean, she can get a little over-confidant at times," Another one sprung up. "She can also be really bossy," Her eyebrows twitched rapidly. "Oh, and the anger! Don't even get me started on the anger. There's a reason I call her Tssuurk!"

The last syllable came out as a choking sound as at that point Rin had clasped her hands around Shirou's throat. "Shirou…" she said low and dangerously. "What have I told you about using that name?"

He of course could only reply with more gurgling. Luvia simply laughed at this. "Oh this is too rich!" she said. "I take it back. It seems your retainer understands you perfectly." She glanced at Shriou. "Tell you what, why don't you come work for me instead? I'm know I will be able to treat you better."

Rin glared at her, but still loosen her grip on his throat. "The idiot is not my retainer. He's my friend, and he won't fall for your thinly veiled attempts to annoy me."

Shirou rubbed his throat. "True, though I doubt she would hit me as often as you do."

Luvia laughed again at the sight of Rin's hands twitching toward his neck, but her eyes narrowed slight at him. "Indeed, you'll find that I'm nothing like her, so why wouldn't you want to get away?"

"Because you're nothing like her." He said plainly. "From what I've seen of you so far, I doubt there's anything more to you than those clothes, make up, hair and money. Take those away and there'll be nothing left." He nodded at Rin. "She doesn't need those things to be great. Also, I'm pretty sure if you gave her a dress as expensive as yours, she'd pull it off better than you."

Luvia took a step back at this, clearly not expecting that response. "W-what?! How dare you insult me so brazenly?!"

Shirou was about to say that he hadn't meant to insult her, but Rin spoke first. "Trust me, if he can see it, then it's more of an observation than an insult."

"Oh can it, you two bit hedge mage!" Luvia snapped, her calm attitude deteriorating.

"Hey! Who are you calling two bit you stuck up show pony!" Rin retorted.

"Harlot!"

"Bitch!"

Shirou wasn't sure who through the first punch, but soon the two girls were on the ground trying to beat the crap out of each other. It was far from elegant, but the two were stilling getting some good hits in. Luvia had a better ground game, but her poofy dress made it hard to maneuver. Shirou certainly didn't expect things to go this way, but far be it from him to stop a fight. "Come on, get her Rin!" He yelled. "Hit her diaphragm and get some leverage!"

"Well, I tried." Ayako sighed as a crowd started to gather. She shrugged and took out her phone, recording the mess that was happening in front of her.

However, as quickly as it all started, Rin and Luvia found themselves separated and on their feet, the blonde's driver holding each girls arm. "There's no need for that." He said calmly. "Perhaps it would be best if we went home for today, Mistress?"

Luvia panted, her dress torn in several places and a few bruises showing. Her eyes burned with anger, but she did not press any further. "I will remember this, Tohsaka." She hissed. "I am sure that we'll be seeing each other again soon." She then turned and swiftly walked back to her limo.

Rin stood where she was glaring after her in a state not much better than the other girl. Everyone stood around awkwardly not sure of what to say. Of course someone had to say something; it looked like Rin was about to pop a blood vessel. Naturally, Shirou took it on himself and said the first thing that came to mind.

"You know, I take it back. She's just like you."

* * *

Shirou regained consciousness about twenty minutes later, his body twitching in pain. "Ugh, what happened?" he groaned as his eyes tried to blink away the blurriness. "All I remember is a blur of pure fury and pain."

"You made Rin angry, sempai. Again." Shirou blinked a few times and the caring face of Sakura shifted into focus. It took a moment to realize that he was lying on the ground with his head in the girl's lap. A quick glance showed that he had been pulled off to the side and the two of them were underneath one of the few trees on the campus.

A small frown crossed Shirou's face. "Oh. Hi Dere-Dere. You know, I am beginning to suspect that Rin takes advantage of the fact that I don't hit her back."

Sakura merely gave him a flat look at this. "Sempai, you should probably just try to not make her angry as often, especially these days considering…" Sakura's expression fell somewhat, and he hand brushed the side of Shirou's face.

For his part, the boy merely sighed. "It's not like I ever do it on purpose. Hell, all these years and I still barely know what sets her off. And I still need to talk to her." He blinked and his gaze refocused on Sakura's eyes. "That reminds me. You aren't a Master, are you Sakura?"

Sakura flinched slightly at the sudden of the question, and she looked off to the side. "N-no. Why do you ask?"

"Oh good. I had heard from my old man that on rare occasions even a non-magus could be selected as a Master, like in the last War. I figured that with you coming from a magus family and all there was an outside chance that you'd be picked, but I'm glad that's not the case. No way would I want you involved a dirty mess like this. You're the purest thing I know."

Shirou swore he saw something that looked like shame cross her face, but that didn't make any sense, so he figured he imagined it. Still, The purple haired girl fidgeted a little, the motion causing Shirou's head to bump up and down. "Does… that that mean that you are…" she trailed off.

"Yup." He said with a grin, holding up his left hand and peeling away the bandages he used to conceal the marks. "Surprised me too, but I'm not complaining." He continued, not noticing Sakura's shoulders slump slightly. "Since I have this, now I can hunt down those magus assholes with impunity. Of course I would have done so anyway, but this means less paperwork with the Church."

"Sempai…" Sakura started hesitantly before continuing. "What if one of the other Masters isn't that bad of a person? Maybe you wouldn't have to… do your job."

"Tch. That would be unlikely." He started before he paused and thought for a moment. "On the other hand, if Tsun-Tsun did become a Master, there's a chance that there are more like her. Unlikely, but possible. In those cases I'd probably work something out."

Sakura relaxed slightly at this. "I just don't want you to hurt or kill someone if they didn't deserve it." She paused. "Even if that person might seem bad."

Shirou arched an eyebrow at this. "Well, alright." He said, not really sure what she was getting at. Still, it looked like she would be sad if something like that happened, and a sad Sakura was just a crime against the world. "I don't see why you're so worried though. Just lay low and everything will be fine."

"I can't help it. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I… I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry about it. Pain doesn't mean anything to me." He said casually before siting up. He gave a slight wince as his muscles twinged at little. "Well, usually it doesn't."

Still, Sakura's face twisted. "Well it should! What if you die?"

He turned back to her and shrugged. "All things end at some point. So long as I go out with a bang, I won't mind." He said as he got to his feet. "Come on, we're already late for class."

"I would."

"Huh?" He asked. "What did you say, Sakura?"

"…Nothing."

* * *

It was much later that day that Rin stormed up to the doors of the church and shoved them open. "Get out here you phony priest! I have need of you!" Her anger from that morning still simmered beneath her skin. That stupid, prissy, stuck up Edelfelt! She had to be here for the Heaven's Feel ritual! Rin had no idea how she found out about it but it didn't matter anymore. She could not have that smug bitch walk into her city like she owned the place.

Eventually Kirei made his way about to the vestibule and said "Ah, hello Miss Tohsaka. How can I help you today?"

"Can it." She said flatly before she lifted up the sleeve of her arm. "I assume you can guess what these are?"

"Command Seals, if I am not mistaken." He said smoothly and without a hint of surprise. "So, I take it you are here to register yourself as a Master."

"No." Rin said, causing the priest to blink. "I haven't summoned my Servant yet." She had spent the past few days preparing the ritual she would use to summon her Servant but she had yet to do so. Part of it was her trying to be sure that she had everything perfect, but the other part was the reason why she was here.

Kirei merely arched an eyebrow in a way that she found incredibly annoying and said "I see. Well, I am afraid that I can't technically consider you as a real Master until you summon your Servant."

"I know that, idiot. I've been trying to find a good Catalyst to summon a powerful Hero. And now, you're going to help me get one."

The priest seemed amused by this. "Really? I would hope that you would realize that as the Administrator-"

"Oh save that drivel." Rin snapped. "I know full well how you had an alliance with my father in the last War. And that you weren't exactly following the rules in doing so." The young magus had found a journal that her father had keep during the last Grail War, and she found out a number of interesting facts within. It unfortunately didn't give any more knowledge to her suspicions as to who kill her father, but it still had many interesting things to say about his apprentice. She had been holding on to the information until she found the opportune time to use it.

Kirei was silent for several long moments, his expression not changing. Eventually he said "These are some hash allegations Miss Tohsaka, but I fail to see your point. You could of course take you claims to the Church, but I doubt they will take you seriously."

Rin merely scoffed at this. "As amusing as it would be to see you exposed for the phony priest that you are, I am not trying to blackmail you. I am demanding that you honor your vow of allegiance."

That annoyingly amused expression returned to the man's face. "My loyalty-"

"Is to the Tohsaka lineage." Rin growled at him. "And I am the heir to that noble line. You _will_ do as I say."

Again, the man was silent as he seemed to consider her demand. Demanding and threatening the Administrator like this was certainly riskier than Rin would have liked, but she needed every last advantage she could get. Furthermore, how he responded could give her certain bits of information she needed to know.

Without preamble Kirei then turned and started walking away from her, though he spoke as he did so. "You must understand that as the Administrator for this War, I cannot act overtly in the favor of a particular Master. Especially given the role I played during the last War, my superiors would be highly suspicious if a Tohsaka was given preferential treatment. Any such aid that I may or may not give in such a case would have to be subtle."

Taking this as a sign of victory, Rin walked after him with a triumphant smirk on her face. "And what would they care? I was under the impression that the Church approved of your working together."

"True, but they made it clear that they do not wish me to do so in this War." He said simply before he pushed open a door that lead to a storage room. "I can only imagine why."

Rin merely grunted at this before saying "So, what use are you going to be to me then?"

The priest walked past several shelves lined with odds and ends before approaching a locked chest in the back corner. "This church has undergone some renovations recently. A new sprinkler system had to be installed. Again." He said flatly as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket. "Many things had to be moved around. It wouldn't be surprising if a certain item went missing for a while before being found again."

_Ah, so he is going to give me a Catalyst after all_, Rin thought to herself. Under normal circumstance, when a Master preforms the Ritual to summon their servant, the Grail will chose a Servant which matches their personality for them, to insure that the two can work as a team. However, if a Master has something of a particular Hero (referred to as a Catalyst) during the summoning, they can choose to summon that Hero instead. This was used to insure that the Hero summoned was a powerful one.

Enacting the next part of her plan, Rin then innocently said "Oh? But doesn't that mean that your son will not have any Catalyst of his own when he summons his own Servant?"

There was a click as the chest was unlocked and Kirei turned to look back at her. "Miss Tohsaka, you know that I am not allowed to reveal the identities of Masters to anyone, especially other Master. I am afraid you must rely on your own intuition an intelligence to determine who you will be fighting. Though I do suppose it is common knowledge that a father will not take a course of action that his harmful to his son."

Rin smirked again at this. That confirmed that Shirou wasn't a Master. There was no way that Kirei would give her an edge over his son in the War, old alliances be damned. If he had refused to give her a Catalyst, then odds were that Shirou would have been a Master. This had been part of her plan in asking Kirei for aid, and she felt a smug sense of satisfaction that it worked so elegantly.

Although, if she had to admit it to herself, she could have just asked the red-head if he was a Master and he would have told her outright. However, she was not in the mood to talk to that idiot at the moment. Besides, this was how it was supposed to be done; using clever ploys, recon and intelligence to determine who the other Maters were. And later she could rub it in his face how she figured it out on her own.

Returning her attention back to the moment, Rin saw Kirei reach into the chest and draw out a bright red cloth. "This is the Holy Shroud of Martin. It was entrusted to my care by the church some time ago."

Rin looked at the cloth critically. "It looks kind of ragged to me." She remarked.

"Indeed it does, as such is part of its legend." Kirei replied. "This was once the cloak of Saint Martin du Tours, a roman soldier turned Bishop of the 4th century. It is said that in his earlier years that he happened upon a beggar that was almost naked, and tore off some of his military cloak to clothe him. In a vision, it was revealed that the beggar was in fact the Lord Savoir and confirmed the man's piety. As such, the remains of his cloak have some interesting protective qualities."

Rin's expression turned thoughtful. "Hmm… a roman soldier… and a saint you said?" That did sound promising. Heroes that had been exalted after their lifetime would be able to bring that power with them into the Grail War, so such a Servant should be able to call on all the powers a living saint would have. Furthermore, the general rule was that the further back in time one went, the stronger and more powerful Heroes were. One from over 1500 years ago was more likely than not to be considerably strong. And if he was a soldier, a roman one at that, he should know how to follow orders from a superior, which in this case was her.

She made a show of looking over the cloth as she mulled it over, taking it from him and turning it this way and that in her hand, as if it could reveal some secret about it which he had not yet divulged. "And you are sure that this Saint Martin will win me the War?" She asked.

"Nothing is certain." Kirei said vaguely. "However, I am quite sure that you will get what you deserve."

Rin gave an annoyed huff before she folded up the cloth. "Well, I suppose it will do." She concluded. "Your loyalty to the Tohsaka family shall not be forgotten. When the time comes I shall reward you for your service."

"Oh no, I could not accept such a gift." He said with a short bow. "All I wish is to see the results of my labors bear fruit."

"Hmm. Well, we can deal with that later. For now, I have a War to win." She said, and then without another word turned and walked out of the church.

* * *

Kirei watched the young woman walk down the street and out of sight from a window, plans and plots turning in his head as he did so. He had not expected his ward to demand something so brazenly of him, but it had given him an idea, and it seemed remiss if he wasted the opportunity.

"Again, the playwright adds a twist to his work." A lazy yet regal voice said from behind him. Kirei turned to face the materializing Gilgamesh as he continued. "That whelp seemed hardly any more interesting than any of the other so called magi of this time. Why would you grant her this favor of a somewhat better Servant?"

"I have two reasons for this." The priest replied. "The first was that my son knew about the Shroud and there was a chance that he would have asked for it himself, and I feel that things will be much more… interesting if the Grail choses his Servant for him." Indeed, with Shirou's temperament, the kind of Hero that was most suited to him personally would definitely allow for maximum destruction.

The King of Heroes was less than pleased by this. "Another barbarian I assume. I hope for you sake that you are right."

Kirei ignored the threat and continued. "The second was more of an amusement on my part. Saint Martin was a relatively minor figure in history, such that I highly doubt that his Heroic Spirit has much power. Furthermore, while the man was a soldier, he also abhorred violence and refused to fight. It's clear that Miss Tohsaka didn't know this, and I doubt that she will bother checking before summoning him. Suffice to say, Miss Tohsaka is not going to get the Servant she was expecting. It will not do well for her pride, I fear."

Gilgamesh blinked before a small smirk crossed his face. "So, larger cruelly must first be built upon smaller ones. A clever prologue."

Kirei bowed. "Thank you for your praise, my King. I am merely doing my best to add to the chaos that is to come."

However, not even Kirei knew just how much chaos this little amusement of his would cause.

* * *

Rin poured over her summoning circle one last time, making sure that it was absolutely perfect. A part of her was telling her to wait just a little be longer, but she ignored it. She had already waited long enough, and she would not let anyone, especially some blonde European bimbo, get the better of her because she wasn't decisive enough. Now sure that everything was to her satisfaction, she tossed the Holy Shroud into the circle before picking up one of her most prana infused jewels and began to chant.

_"__Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.  
The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.  
Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).  
Repeat every five times."_

A dull red light began to glow from the lines of the circle. Rin took a small knife and pricked her finger, a small amount of her blood flowing over the gem in her hand.

"_Simply, shatter once filled.  
I announce.  
Yourself is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword.  
In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.  
Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead."_

The intensity of the glow had increased in brilliance, and the pattern inscribed on the floor began to rise. The flat red plane of symbols and runes reached shoulder height, and she cast out her arm holding the gem and finished the aria.

"_You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance!"_

The drop of blood from her finger hit the floor, and the light became blinding. Rin felt the prana being drain from her and her gem, and after blinking a few times to get her vision back, she laid eyes on her Servant. He was…

Not what she had been expecting. He was very tall, with long limbs and lean muscle, and he had an unruly mass of white hair that came down to his neck. His attire was what really threw Rin off though, as his pants and over shirt were a deep gray and very similar to what member of the Church wore in current times. This was offset by the bright red of his cloak (his Holy Shroud, she guessed), though even that was strange. It looked more like a cape with a mantle, and two long strips ran from the shoulders down the front, emblazed with white crosses and other designs, and a gold cross hung between them from his neck. On his hands were a pair of black gloves, which matched the equally black mask over his face. It was simple, featureless, and showed only his eyes.

Those eyes locked onto hers, and she saw that they were a burning red, like heated embers. The man blinked as they looked at each other, the silence stretching on between them. Then, his shoulders began to shake.

"Heh… heh heh… heh heh, ahahahahaha, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The man laughed, such as it could be called, with wild abandon. His voice was raspy, and his back arched as he cackled at the heavens, as if he had been shown the funniest thing in all the world. Part of Rin wanted to chastise him for having such rude way of greeting his Master, but most of her was stock still at just how unsettling the sight before her was. _This is a saint?_ she thought to herself in horror.

Eventually, the man calmed down, returning his gaze to her. "Ah, my apologies." He said, his rasp still present but more subdued. "I haven't been able to do that for some time, so I got away from myself. Allow me to make another introduction."

He gave a bow. "I am Servant Avenger. At your service, Master."

* * *

A/N: Man, Saint Martin is way more intense you think he'd be. It's almost like he's not Saint Martin at all, but an entirely different character. Who could this theoretical mystery character possibly be?

Also, I'm taking some liberties with how detecting other Masters and Servants work. As far as I can tell, though things only start until after the their Servant has been summoned. Furthermore, I don't think that anyone from this was is able to detect Gilgamesh at all, as he's from the last war.

Till next time.


End file.
